Heavenly Host Nightmare
by GhastlyRevenant
Summary: Kishinuma Yoshiki and Shinozaki Ayumi find themselves trapped in a haunted school, being faced with death at every turn. They must rely on one another to survive, as working together is their only chance at making it back home.
1. Chapter 1

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

Some things in the original story line are drastically changed, otherwise it would mostly be a repeating of the game. If you see something different, or if an area is in the wrong place, you do not need to inform me.

If even one person wishes to read the rest, I will update with a chapter per day.

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The last thing Yoshiki remembered... was that him and his friends had all been in their classroom, doing some sort of charm so they could stay friends, or something like that... Then, the earth shook with tremendous force, and everything went black. It still was... He didn't know what had become of him, where he was, if he was even alive... and what about the others? Had they been hurt?... Was... Shinozaki ok? With that sudden burst of worry, his eyes flung open, and his breaths started up in gasps. His sight was still blurry, and his mind unfocused. _Where am I?... Where is everyone?_ As soon as the gasps became even breaths, he began calling out for anyone who'd hear... and for someone a lot more specific. **"Hello?! Is anyone there?! Anyone?!"** he paused, getting a deep breath, **"Shinozaki!"**

No response came, and Yoshiki felt dread begin to overcome him. He struggled upwards, and, with cleared vision, looked at his surroundings, attempting to keep himself calm. But it only got worse. The place he sat in... No inch of it looked familiar, not a single floorboard. His breathing gained pace, and he could feel sweat already trailing down his face. **"Wh... where is this? What the hell is happening?!"** he yelled out in frustration and panic, pushing his back against the wall. He felt completely vulnerable in this place... The air itself felt as if it was trying to strangle him, and the planks beneath him creaked as if someone was approaching, no sort of good intention about them. Chills ran down his spine as he attempted to stand, gulping. If he was here... that must mean the others were too... That meant Shinozaki was here... and _that_ meant he had to find her...

The earth fell out from under her. It felt like an earthquake ripped apart the school, causing it to consume her entirely. The darkness surrounded Ayumi and any sense of reality seemed to fall away as she sank deeper and deeper into the earth. Her body jerked awake when she felt contact with solid ground. She sat up quickly, too quickly, and her head reeled from it. She put a hand against her head, squeezing it a bit as her eyes readjusted and her head recovered. Her heart sank as she looked around the dark, cold, empty classroom. It was nothing like any classroom she knew. Floorboards were torn away, sticking up, and nails jutted out from the floor. Dust and dirt coated the room, making the air thick. She gasped for breath, panic settling heavily in her stomach.

The charm... the charm was the last thing she remembered. She had found it while looking online for scary stories to tell everyone after the festival. She looked around the room, seeing no one. Where were the others? _Satoshi..._ she clutched her hand to her chest. She shakily stood up, trying to make out some figures in the dark room. She swallowed thickly, fumbling as she remembered the candles she had brought. Her shaking hands took a few moments of coaxing to flick the match on and light one of the candles. The bright, warm little flame brought a small amount of comfort. That was, until her eyes caught what else was coating the room beside dirt and dust. A scream tore from the very center of her being as she saw the large splattering of blood in the room.

Once the scream had departed from Ayumi's lungs, she found herself gasping in panic for air. Blood, blood, so much blood. If this blood came from a person... that means... there was no way to survive so much blood loss. Where was the body? Was it in the room? Was this a sick prank? Her heart beat harshly against her chest, she wheezed and panted for air to fill her throbbing lungs but to no avail.

Yoshiki attempted to stand away from the wall, but he was was still far from stable. His harsh breathing was making him a little dizzy, and there was a foul stench that wafted through with the wind that made him sick to the pit of his stomach. With only a few steps away from the wall, his knees came close to buckling, but he was determined, to keep upright. If he fell now, it would be that much harder to get back up again... Plus, he couldn't see hardly two feet in front of him, so falling to the ground could lead to a much worse situation. After regaining his balance, and forcing down lunch, He took only one more step before his ears were met with a piercing scream.

A serge of panic flowed through him, and his hesitant steps became a determined dash. **"Shinozaki?! Shinozaki!?"** His heart raced at the sound, a fear welling up in him as he raced to the source of the voice. _Was that... Is Shinozaki in trouble? In pain?! _his thoughts ran through his head as he skidded to a stop at a classroom door, almost slipping on the hardwood floor. Without a single pause, he flung the door open, his breathing heavy. His eyes settled upon Ayumi, who held her famous candle for lighting, and ignored everything else. He had to make sure she was ok! He quickly approached her, passing the mess that lie in the middle of the classroom. **"Shinozaki! Are you ok?"** he asked, about to place his hands on her shoulders, but thought better of it. He let his hands drop back to his sides, to play it off as it was only inertia that drew them close to her.

Ayumi jumped, clutching onto her candle, as if it was a lifeline when she heard the door fly open. She gasped painfully, registering Kishinuma coming into the room. She wasn't alone, a thought that only brought so much comfort, with the knowledge that Mochida and the others might be lost as well in this place. She was unable to bring herself to respond to Kishinuma's question, as her wheezing dissolved into fits of coughing. She shakily rose her hand, pointing to the blood strewed over the floors and walls. **"B-blood!"** she managed to cough out between her painful breaths. Tears formed in her eyes, as she stared at the deep red blood that was definitely not fake.

Yoshiki watched anxiously as her breathing came close to hyperventilating. He wanted to help her, but was stuck on how to do so. Despite her trouble, though, she began to calm down enough to speak, but he was hoping for an 'I'm ok.' But instead, she uttered one word, and pointed towards the back of the class... Did... he even want to look?... He took a deep breath and turned slowly, trying to prepare himself for anything that may await him... however, what he was met with was something no one could prepare for. Blood... Pooling in the middle of the classroom, upon the walls, the desks, even the ceiling... This had to be a prank... right...? He covered his hand with his mouth to keep himself from getting sick again, finding it hard to believe this was anything but reality. What had happened to this person? Where were they now?... And... what had killed them?

He looked back to Ayumi, who was still having breathing problems as she gazed in horror at the gore._ I've got to get her out of here... to calm her down_, he thought, quickly coming to her side and placing his hand on her back. **"Come on, you don't need to be in here,"** he told her, helping her to the door and slamming it shut behind him. Even though they had left the room, the sight was still in his brain, and he couldn't stop worrying over it. That couldn't have been natural, and it was a closed room, so there was no chance it was a suicide... No! He didn't need to be thinking about this! He still needed to calm down Shinozaki. He turned to her, calming his own breath down before attempting to talk to her. **"Calm down, ok? It was probably just a sick prank,"** he told her, but was unsure of his own condolence, **"Just the lighting made it look real."**

Ayumi hardly realized a hand on her back and being led out of the blood-soaked room. Once the door was shut and the horrors out of view, the large amount of pressure on her body seemed to slip away. Her panicked breathing and coughs devolved into pants, as she tried to get a grasp on the situation. She couldn't get the picture out of her head. The blood that should be in someone's body... splashed and pooled everywhere. _So much blood, _she thought with a tremble. Did the blood belong to one of their classmates? That thought broke her and tears began to spill freely. She looked at Kishinuma, his explanation not satisfying at all.

**"A prank!"** she yelled at him. The thought had crossed her mind, but as they exited into the hallway of a broken school that still didn't resembles their's, she knew this was something else entirely. **"No way is this a prank!"** The festivals at their school were over. The haunted house had been cleaned up, and even if it hadn't, there was no way their classmates would have pulled off such a real look. **"That- that was real blood!"**she choked out with a sob.

Yoshiki looked away as her voice rose at him, knowing full well how absurd his reasoning was. **"..." **He rubbed the back of his neck, turning to see if he could see inside the room. With a sigh, he messed with his hair in frustration. He couldn't let her get worried about it, but he had no other explanation than a person, or animal, or whatever, had been brutally massacred in that room. But what worried him, and probably Ayumi too, was the question of who it was... He hadn't gotten a good look, and he didn't particularly want to, but maybe if he investigated the room further, he could find some sort of student ID or something... to ease their worries... Or at least, Ayumi's. If it was any of their friends... he'd have to lie to her.

He crossed his arms while still facing the door, sorting his thoughts through. **"I'm going back... to see if I can find anything of use,"** he said, but was hesitant about his own decision. But he had already said he would, and there was no going back. He turned to approach her, eyeing the candle in her hands. **"Do you have more of those?"** he asked, since searching the room in the pitch black wouldn't do any good, and he definitely didn't plan on leading her back in there. This was something he had to do by himself, so she could recover. He could take it, to an extent, and keep his breaths calm.

Ayumi stared at him, mentally arguing with herself if she should she should go in with him or stay out in the hallway alone. The idea of being back in that room, the smell of death so strong, she couldn't bear it. Her expression perked up at the question. **"Yep! I have lots,"** she replied, happy to pull out another candle. She used the flame from her own candle to light the new one and held it out for him. The small amount of brightness in her face vanished as she looked at the door Kishinuma was going to go through. She frowned, the blood entering her mind again. What if it was Mochida? Or any of the others? She couldn't bear the painful thought that they were dead.

**"Thanks,"** Yoshiki said, taking the handle of the holder and approaching the door. His hand took the handle, but this time he was a lot more hesitant. Now, instead of fear propelling him inside the room, it was fear that made it difficult to even open the door. _Pull it together..._, he told himself, and, with a deep breath, he wrenched the door open. It was a little more difficult, as the old door didn't slide as smoothly as it probably once did, and his strength was already draining as opposed to his adrenaline state a few minutes prior. The smell hit him full force, and it made him want to slam the door back shut, but he couldn't chicken out. He walked in and closed the door behind him, holding the candle out in front. He stepped carefully around the various holes in the floor, and made sure to keep an eye out for any glistening metal, or plastic. He took a deep breath before stepping over the blood stains to reach the other side of the room, where he continued the search.

Ayumi watched Yoshiki's back as he opened the door and went back into the room. She couldn't help but think he was crazy for going back in that room that was so drenched in blood and smelled so strongly of decay. She sighed, worry consuming her mind. Was that one of their friends in there? It couldn't be... when she woke up the room was like that. Her body trembled, the image forever implanted in her brain. She sniffled, wiping tears away as she waited for Yoshiki to come back. The hallway was devoid of noises, which did nothing to sooth the anxiety that settled into her. It was so dark, the only spots she could see was the small surrounding area that her candle illuminated…

...There! Yoshiki's eyes caught a shine among the blood as lightning struck outside. He slowly came forward, already feeling waves of nausea, as he knew what he had to do to put his worries to rest, one way or the other. He crouched down near the small puddle, at least thankful that it wasn't where most of the blood pooled. As his hand neared the rectangular object, his body gave retches of opposition, but he ignored the pleas to rethink this. He flinched as his fingertips met with the blood... warm blood. He moved his arm to cover his mouth, so he could keep anything unwanted from coming up, and keep the smell from gagging him further. He lifted the plastic piece from the blood, instantly recognizing it as a student ID. He rubbed it to get a clear look at the name, school, anything, and his heart began to race. _Seisei Academy for Girls_. He let out a long held sigh of relief, but felt bad for doing so immediately. _Sorry... but I'd rather it be you than someone I know..._

He tossed the ID to the side, having no interest of learning the... girls name... It'd only make him feel worse about his thoughts. He stood and tried to recover from his sickness, but wanted to get his search over with. He checked the far corners of the room, and once he came up dry, he made a beeline for the door. He was much quicker in coming out than going in, and as soon as he was out, he let himself hit the wall with his back. His legs felt like mush, but he couldn't rest for long. He didn't want to look weak or pitiful in front of Ayumi. **"There's... nothing in there...,"** he breathed, standing up without support almost as soon as he had leaned against the wall. He attempted to wipe his other hand clean on his pants, but he was certain it was still dirtied with red.

Ayumi's mind was reeling with questions about this place, but more than anything she wanted to make sure everyone was okay. Ayumi jumped when the door swung open and Yoshiki reappeared. Just by him opening the door and coming out, the smell of death wafted over to her, making her body jerk with the urge to gag. She stared at him as he reported the emptiness of the room. She didn't know what he was expecting to be in there. There was only blood. She shivered once again, hoping that was the worse thing to come from this place. She looked down the hall in both directions, her eyes unable to see past the darkness. She felt unnerved not knowing what was ahead or in back of them. She looked back at Yoshiki, determination in her eyes. She only had one goal in mind.**"Let's go look for Mochida and the others."**

Yoshiki looked over Ayumi's expression, noticing that her fear had become determination, at least on the outside. While he felt a little irritation at the specific mention of Satoshi, he whole heartedly agreed. **"Right. They've got to be somewhere in here,"** he replied, glancing down the hallway he thought he had come from. While he'd like to make more ground by looking both ways at the same time, splitting up seemed like a really bad idea in this place... That, and he wanted to stay directly by her side. If anything happened, he'd make sure she came out ok. **"How about this way first? I think it's the way I came from,"** he informed, looking over back at her to see if she agreed. All the while, he was making a point to hide his crimson stained hand. He didn't want her knowing what he had actually been doing in there... Even though it wasn't a friend, which was good, he didn't want her to know it was a human at all. That, in itself, would be more terrifying than not knowing, even though beforehand he had thought differently.

_Right, they have to be in here, somewhere,_ Ayumi thought to herself for reassurance. Everyone who was present after the charm had been done... the ground swallowed all of them, right? She could hardly remember the moments that the world began to shake and Ms. Yui shouted at them all to get under desks. They hardly had time to move before the floor split. She looked in the direction Yoshiki suggested and nodded. She had no preference to which way they looked first. She had a feeling they'd have to go around the entire school. **"That sounds good,"** Ayumi agreed, trying to keep her voice from shaking. She took a few steps in the direction, the floorboards creaking with protest. This entire place was so decayed she was afraid of the floor collapsing on her. She held her candle out in front of her, seeing patches of the floor that were completely gone. They would have to be careful where they walked. She hesitated slightly as she looked at the holes in the floor, but forced herself to keep her legs moving. They had to find their friends.

Yoshiki followed behind her, looking at all of his surroundings with the faint light of the candle. As they passed, he gazed down the dark craters in the floor, feeling extremely lucky. _God, how did I not fall into one of those? _Trying to shake the thought of so many places he could have died, he chose to look forward, occupying his mind with something he knew would keep him off of dreading over everything. After all, admiring Ayumi successfully distracted him from class most of the time. Anytime he did, he was overcome by a sense of longing..., and hopelessness. He sighed, deciding to try and find something else distract him, looking to the side with his cheeks slightly tinted red, but the dim light didn't reveal such features about him. Though, something caught his eye in the distance, causing him to side step and come to the lead of the search. If there was anything suspicious, he definitely wanted to be the one to face it.

He held out the candle as far as his arm could outstretch, and what it illuminated made him stop in his tracks. Bones... **"Uh, wait here for a second,"** he told Ayumi, walking carefully forward. Upon seeing the figure, it's human shape... an overwhelming sense of dread came over him. Now he knew of two humans that were killed here... This wasn't looking good... He bent down to get a better look, reaching out to touch the bleach white bones. Though, he quickly jerked away and fell over as a blue light appeared out of nowhere. **"Wh-what the-?!"** he gasped, dropping the candle, putting it out on impact. But the blue light let out a glow that gave sufficient light, so he didn't worry about being in pitch black. Instead, he was immensely alarmed at the blue orb and the body it hovered over. _"Oh... you two must be... the new victims..."_ a voice called, it's tone sorrowful.

Ayumi walked in silence, her thoughts flickering from the bloody wall to her friend's faces. It seemed like only an hour ago that she was telling the group a scary story. Mochida was so freaked out! She frowned to herself. Now that she was in a scary story, she could say she wasn't fond of this at all. She stopped when she heard Yoshiki break the silence. She watched in confusion as he went on ahead. What was he looking at? Her eyes narrowed as she tried to make out what caught Yoshiki's attention. Suddenly there was a blue light and a quick flurry of motions. Yoshiki fell back, his candle going out, and the blue light hovered in the air. Her eyes became stuck on the form that the blue orb was hovering.

She screamed as she came to realize that there was a human skeleton on the floor. She felt any semblance of calm slip from her as she began to hyperventilate. Her heart beat painfully in panic, her lungs gasped for breath but her breathing wouldn't allow it. The blue orb speaking did not help as she began to slip. _"A pity..."_ it said sadly. _"You don't seem like you'll last long,"_ it observed, tone becoming only more depressed. Ayumi's lungs were beginning to burn, her short breaths interrupted with small fits of coughing. Was it saying they would die soon? She didn't want to! She wanted to go home! She wanted to wake up in the classroom with Mochida, Ms. Yui, and everyone. She wanted them to laugh at how she passed out during the earthquake and had a bad dream! She wasn't ready to die.

Yoshiki heard Ayumi's scream, looking over his shoulder as panic once again filled his heart and mind. He hurried upward, quickly coming to Ayumi's side to calm her down. **"Calm down Shinozaki!" **he said, a sense of urgency in his voice, placing a hand on her shoulder. He knew that simple phrase wouldn't help her, but it's all he could manage to pull out of the top of his head. After all, there was a pile of bones only feet away. He had no way of explaining it away, or putting it out of her mind. He turned towards the spirit, standing firmly in front of Ayumi in case it was dangerous. Of course he was scared, but this thing sounded like it knew something they didn't... and he had to find out what.

**"What... what do you mean 'victims'?"** he asked hesitantly, a bead of sweat inching down his face. It didn't respond for a time, as if thinking something over, but eventually replied. _"You're trapped here... forever... There's no way out. No matter what, you're destined to die... eventually."_ No way... out? Yoshiki felt his blood run cold, but he wouldn't accept his nor Ayumi's doom so easily. **"How do you know that for sure? In fact, just what **_**are **_**you?"** he inquired with a hint of skepticism. Nothing was impossible... or so they always said.

Ayumi heard, but did not register what Yoshiki told her to do. Her body was trembling in fear and from her short, quick, uneven breaths. All she could do was stare at the blue-lit skeleton below the floating orb. The skeleton seemed to have no flesh left on it, but a torn uniform decorated it. The bare bones used to be inside a living, breathing person! A person with hopes and dreams and fears and love. The trembling worsened, resulting in her hand being unable to keep a grip on her candle. It fell to the floor, the air swooshing it out before it made contact with the wood. She let out an anguished cry as the blue orb told them of their fate. Her knees gave out, causing her to slump to the floor miserably.

The blue flame made no noise as Ayumi cried out. It remained thoughtfully silent for a few moments. _"I... I am a remnant of what you see..."_ it told him. The bones laid heavily beneath the flame. Were the bones the floating soul's? That would not be said, but it spoke the truth. It was a remnant of one of the many deaths that have happened on these grounds. _"I've seen a lot of it... death... it gets everyone... No escape."_

Yoshiki was startled when Ayumi cried and slumped down to the floor. He quickly followed her down, keeping his hand on her shoulder, too much of a coward to give her anymore physical comfort than that. His look was one of great concern, then it turned to determined as he looked to the orb again... Though, it was calling itself a spirit. He looked at the pile of bones, then to the 'ghost.' **"So... you're saying there's absolutely no way out?"** he asked again, his body slightly trembling, but he had to hold in any major reactions. He couldn't be telling Ayumi to calm down, when he himself was panicking. **"How do you know for sure?"** _After all... you died.._, he thought, but knew better than to say that out loud. _"..."_ The spirit paused again, and all Yoshiki could hear was Ayumi's sobs. It was driving him crazy that he couldn't calm her down... If Satoshi were here, she'd probably... be fine... But it was _him_, not Satoshi... _"It's true I didn't get a long time to search for a way to leave this cursed place... I guess it's better to say that leaving this place will be close to impossible, if not completely."_ Yoshiki gulped, tensing up as the spirit basically told them their chances were slim, if there at all. **"We'll find it... There has to be an exit..,"** he muttered, looking down at the floor.

Ayumi gasped painfully for air between her sobs. The ghost speaking of a slim chance did not make her feel any better. How did all these people die? The puddles of blood in the classroom and now a bare skeleton. She could stand to think of herself or her friends in such a state. She clutched her hands closely to her chest as she deeper and deeper descended into panic. She wanted to get _away_ from this skeleton. She didn't want to be face to face with such a horrible sight. This wasn't supposed to happen in real life. The spirit wasn't even sure if there was a chance! He was just admitting he wasn't sure! What would her sister and parents think if she never came home? She couldn't bear to think of it. Between her sobs she heard Yoshiki speak of an exit. As much as she would love to bee-line for any suspected way out of this hell, she shook her head vigorously.**"Ke...others... ke...we need to... ke... find- them!"** she coughed out painfully. She refused to leave this place without the others. She had to know they were okay.

Yoshiki stared as the spirit made no move to answer back. It was probably doubting their survival, but he wouldn't give up on himself, Ayumi, or the others. As she began to speak again, he changed his total attention towards her. He frowned, realizing his prior statement sounding as if he planned to abandon anyone stuck here. **"I... of course we are,"** he muttered, looking back to the floor, **"But... we also have to find a way out..."** They couldn't find the exit and leave their friends, but they also couldn't find their friends, but end up dying anyways. This meant they had two goals, and the spirit was making the second task sound near impossible.


	2. Chapter 2

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

Some things in the original story line are drastically changed, otherwise it would mostly be a repeating of the game. If you see something different, or if an area is in the wrong place, you do not need to inform me.

UNDERLINED PARTS ARE PLACES WHERE THE STORY CAN DIVERGE INTO A WRONG END. READ WRONG ENDS IN AT THE SEPARATE STORY TITLED AS SUCH.

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_"Others...? There were others that entered this space recently, but... you probably won't be able to meet up with them,"_ the spirit interjected, and seemed as if it had more to say, but Yoshiki didn't want it to finish. He pulled Ayumi up, feeling any further information would make her condition worse. **"We can't just waste time sitting here... We have to find them,"** he said over the ghost's own hushed voice, picking up one of the dropped candles. He helped Ayumi walk forward, his steps rushed until the blue glow could no longer be seen in the darkness. He breathed a sigh, hoping Ayumi hadn't heard and her morale wasn't completely devastated.

Ayumi nodded, letting him usher her up. Her legs felt unsteady, as if the world was rocking like a ship on wild seas. She had a bit of a rough time keeping up with Yoshiki's long, quick strides. But, she managed. She felt some relief from being away from the skeleton and spirit. Her breathing still wasn't normal, as she panted as if she ran a mile. Her skin was pale, though that was a detail that would be near impossible to see in the dark lighting. She clutched a hand to her chest, feeling her own heart beating wildly. She hadn't managed to catch anything the spirit was saying in the last moments, and she didn't want to. It would probably just be more discouraging news about all of this. She had to believe they could, at the very least, find the others and they would be alright. She leaned against a wall which creaked against her weight. She panted for a few more moments, trying to make out Yoshiki's shape in the darkness. With the goal of finding the others, her mind could become focused and her breathing edged away from the danger of hyperventilating. She looked at Yoshiki, unsure how to progress. She pushed herself lightly off the wall, holding out her hand to Yoshiki. **"I'll relight the candle,"** she told him. She felt weaker standing in the dark than she had with the small light. She had to be brave to find Mochida and the others, she told herself, hoping her breathing would be completely back to normal soon.

Yoshiki stopped along with her, letting her rest. He realized in being in such a rush, he endangered them of falling into one of those holes, but maybe seeing them recently helped him avoid them... Ugh, it didn't matter. He shouldn't worry over what his past options were. The important part was that they were okay. **"Alright,"** he answered, handing her the candle he had managed to refuge. He wasn't too sore about losing the second, though, since she said she had a lot, and they didn't really need more than one. As he waited for the candle to be re-lit, he thought on what he had heard the spirit say... They probably won't be able to meet up with their friends? He wished he had stayed longer to hear about it in depth, but he also dreaded to know. This place was giving him all sorts of conflicting thoughts, and he didn't particularly like it... But, he did know running was the right option. Being clueless, especially in Ayumi's current state, was better than absolute despair.

Ayumi took the candle, lighting it in a couple motions easily. It was something she had done a thousand times before, and the little methodical movement brought her a lot of comfort. Still, that comfort dissolved just as quickly as it appeared. She pulled out another candle, lighting it from the other candle. She handed the first candle back to Yoshiki. **"I guess the only thing left to do is go the other way,"** she said, her voice still sounding breathless. Still, she wasn't close to hyperventilating anymore, which was good. She just kept telling herself, they need to find the others. They won't be able to find the others if she collapses from not being able to get enough air into her lungs. She looked down the hallway, grimacing. How much more blood and bones awaited them down there? The other way wasn't an option, now. Though, Ayumi had a sinking feeling that they would have to cover that area at some point too. She held out her candle, to see in front of her. How did all these gaps in the floor happen? It seemed so unnatural. She took a heavy sigh before starting to walk again, trying to find her previous determination going forward. She was just so nervous about finding more death.

Yoshiki took the candle carefully, looking down the other way. By the looks of things, there would probably be more awaiting them down this hall too, but maybe Ayumi's determination would get her through it... He could only hope. **"Sounds good,"** he said with a shrug, staying by her side this time instead of behind her. Although he looked calm, his anxiety was through the roof, and it was growing with each step. Then, it evolved into dread when he was met with a smell, the odor that had filled the blood room. He glanced to Ayumi, fearing for her breathing state, and what it would become at what mostly lied in the darkness... which was revealed in a few small steps. A body lay sprawled across the floor, below a hole in the ceiling. He immediately stopped, choking up slightly at the sight. First was blood, then a skeleton, and now... the worst... A body, still decaying, her expression of terror and anguish frozen on her face.

Ayumi felt tense and worried as they walked down the hall. The holes in the floor were a constant worry as she feared falling to her death. She didn't even trust the floorboards they were on. What if this entire place just collapsed? When she was hit with the strong smell of decay, she gagged. The sight of the actual body made her body react with horrible nausea. The smell was too strong, the sight too horrid. She made a choking sound as she used her free arm to cover her mouth and nose. Tears had come to form in her eyes again as hopelessness began to surround her. So many dead bodies! They had only been in this place for about half an hour, not even, and they've seen three dead bodies. Would they join that number soon? She was choking, her body repulsed by the smell and her lungs beginning to tighten. She took a few steps back, though the smell wouldn't decrease she needed to calm down. She couldn't be hyperventilating every time they saw a body... they would never find the others! But, how could she be calm? There was a decaying corpse in front of her! It was so fresh that the expression could be made out.

Yoshiki quickly looked away, coughing as the stench overwhelmed him. _I've got to get away from this odor_, he told himself, but the thought instantly erased as he heard Ayumi choke. _**We've **__got to get away..._ He took a few steps back to be by her side again, finding it difficult to open his mouth to speak. But, he finally managed. **"C'mon, pull it together, Shinozaki!"** he said, but instantly realized he came off as harsh, or heartless. He didn't really know how he was managing to not double over from the sickness in the pit of his stomach, while at the same time demanding Ayumi to stay calm. **"If we're going to find Mochida and the rest, we're going to have to be able to brave this sort of thing,"** he pointed out, using Satoshi's name, as much as it bugged him, to try and boost up her determination. Though, he felt bad about calling these bodies 'things', it's the only way he knew how to classify them, while staying detached. His stern look then eased back. **"... Here, I'll help,"** he added after a short pause, offering to lead her around the body, while she could keep her nose and eyes covered.

Ayumi stared at Yoshiki, just to get her eyes off that thing, as he began to speak to her. She tensed at his first plea, unsure how she could even manage to stay calm. There were dead bodies everywhere! At the mention of Mochida and the others, her expression shifted. Both their paths now had dead bodies in them, and Ayumi had a creeping feeling that this sight wasn't going to be uncommon from here on out. But, that didn't make dealing with the corpses any easier. She had to keep moving, though, if she ever hoped to see the others... especially Mochida. She had so much she wanted to say. **"I know that!" **she snapped at Yoshiki, frustrated about having to get used to this. Even more frustrating was he was telling her what she kept telling herself. She looked back at the body, trying to harden herself. She kept her sleeve over her mouth and nose, but that couldn't buffer the smell completely. She looked back to Yoshiki, purpose and fear in her eyes. **"Okay..." **she responded to his offer of help.

Yoshiki flinched as her voice raised, but didn't take any personal offense to it. His way of calming her down wasn't exactly great, but at least she was willing to trust him to help her. As she kept her arm to her mouth and nose, and hopefully closed her eyes, he took her free arm lightly. He lead her carefully around the body, making sure to keep her out of the blood on the floor. However, this meant he had to step through it slightly, giving him a sinking feeling in his stomach once more. Luckily, it wasn't much, and they were soon around the body. He walked with her a little further, until the body faded in the blackness, and the smell dulled. He let go of her, refusing to look her in the eyes for a brief moment. That was the closest he had ever been to holding her hand... He was so pathetic, he realized. **"Ok, we're good,"** he informed, so she knew to start looking out for herself.

Ayumi followed Yoshiki's lead, her heart sinking as they approached the dead body. She was tempted to shut her eyes, wanting to avoid getting an up close and personal look at the decaying corpse. Still, she didn't want to be blind, so her eyes shifted downward and were half lidded. That way she had somewhat of an idea, but she was determined to not stare at the dead girl any longer. The air was so thick and disgusting that Ayumi found herself craving fresh, outside air devoid of death and dust. Was there an outside to this place? Hearing Yoshiki's confirmation that they were past, she let out a huge sigh. She handled that decently, she thought to herself, eyes glancing back into the dark hallway. She didn't have another attack, which was good... but she didn't know how much more she could take. She just wanted to find Mochida and the others and go home. She looked to her side, noticing a classroom door. She hesitated as she stared at it, just noticing a headache developing around her right temple.

Still looking away, Yoshiki held his candle to see if there was any end to this hall, but none was in sight yet. However, there were a few doors that had to be checked, much to his dismay. He approached the one nearest to him, the one Ayumi stood next to, and attempted to pull the door open, but it didn't budge. Was he just not being rough enough? He tried again, jerking with the best strength he could muster, but it still didn't even shutter. It was like it was fake, like just a piece of the wall. **"I guess... there's no going in there," **he mentioned, a little confused, but decided not to question it. He had already begun to realize this was no normal school, and it definitely wasn't their school.

With a sigh, he turned forward and kept walking, coming to the next door on the other side of the hall. He jerked, expecting it to be the same as the last, but it wrenched open without resistance. He peered in, anxious to enter, but there was no way of finding something out without taking risks. He slowly stepped in, holding the light in front so he didn't fall in one of the many gaping holes.

Ayumi watched Yoshiki try to open the door breathlessly. As the door refused to open, she felt a sort of relief. She could just tell... they shouldn't go in there. She followed Yoshiki into the classroom that actually had a door that worked. She was careful with her steps, as she held out her candle and walked deeper into the classroom. She came up to the chalkboard, seeing a paper stuck to it. She held the light closer to see what was on it. Their was a child's drawing, evident from the scribbly, crude lines and coloring. It wasn't the art that so much mattered than what it was depicting. **"How... disturbing,"**she muttered. There were four children stabbing an adult who was on his knees. It made her wonder... was this an elementary school? Or... _was_ an elementary school, considering this building seemed to morph far away from any purpose it once had.**"Why would someone draw something like that?"** she questioned, pulling her eyes away from the simple, yet grotesque picture.

Yoshiki went to the back of the room, letting Ayumi check the front. He had heard her say something, but before he could ask her what she found, he found something himself. A paper on the floor, torn, but a large piece of it was in tact, albeit stained. He knelled down, picking up the worn paper and holding it close to the candle's faint light. He decided to read it aloud, so Ayumi could hear his findings as well. **"... Heavenly Host... Elementary?"** he started, but immediately paused. Heavenly Host? Wasn't that the school their's was built in place of, and the school in the story Ayumi had told? He gulped, deciding to carry on, **"... Notice to all Faculty and Students..."** The rest was illegible, as some substance that he assume to be blood was covering the rest of the paper. Though, he didn't particularly want to read out what the red spelled out... _I'm going to kill you._ He felt chills all around, feeling the sense of malice even in the slip of paper. This overwhelming sense of violence caused him to quickly drop it, letting it flutter back to the ground, seemingly harmless. His heart raced, as if he had almost died just then... He quickly stood, his breathing slightly erratic and his body trembling. That... was a terrifying feeling...

Ayumi blinked when she heard Yoshiki say Heaven Host Elementary School. She tugged the drawing off the chalkboard, tearing it slightly. How...? Heavenly Host was shut down and torn down, where their school now stood. That was the scary story she had just told to the others... Ms. Yui helped her freak everyone out. It had been a rousing success as her scary stories had gone. She had an awful pang of desire to see the others and check on their well-being. She sighed to herself, trying to keep a focused mind. She walked over to Yoshiki. **"So... we're in Heavenly Host then..."** she mumbled, trying to figure out how that was even possible. She looked at the piece of paper he seemed to have dropped. **"Did it say anything else?"** she questioned, looking at the child's drawing in her hand. Maybe they should collect the papers? Although... if they didn't have anything useful on them, it wasn't really worth the effort. Plus, the piece of paper she held had a darkness to it she didn't want to hold onto. Once Yoshiki saw it, she'd be happy to toss it aside.

Yoshiki, once he regained straight thoughts, looked to Ayumi, wide-eyed. Realizing he might startle her, he quickly shook out of his state of terror, stepping on the paper as if on accident to hide it as he turned towards her. **"Nothing... The rest was worn away,"** he said quickly, hoping she bought it. He gave the drawing in her hand a look, grimacing at the disturbing scene. **"How... morbid...,"** he muttered, examining the laughing faces of the children, and the man's face twisted with pain. He really didn't want to go through something like that, if he could help it... and there was no question about keeping Ayumi from a torturous death.

Ayumi seemed a little disappointed in hearing there was no more information on the scrap of paper. Oh well, it wasn't like they'd find directions on how to get out of this place. She nodded in agreement about his comment on the picture, dropping it and letting it float to the floor. She had so many questions reeling through her head. Was this place a different dimension? Why were they sent here? What happened? She sighed, knowing the answers wouldn't come from standing around. **"Doesn't seem like there's anything else in here,"** she commented, walking around the edges. She stopped as she came up to the window. It was pitch dark outside, but she could swear she heard rain. She put the candle carefully on the floor and stood back up to face the window. She grabbed at the handles and jerked upwards. Nothing happened except her fingers hurt from the jerking movement. She had an awful feeling, so she walked over to the window next to it and tried once again. Nothing. **"We're really locked in,"** she mumbled, eyes downcast. She picked up her candle once again, deciding she was done with this room and headed for the door.

Yoshiki watched Ayumi go toward the windows, thankful she didn't find his actions fishy. He stepped back and looked at the red stained paper, his prior feelings coming back. Every time he looked at it, it felt as if cold hands of death were wrapping around his throat. Even though it terrified him, his eyes were completely fixated on the message. He could feel himself being pulled into darkness, but Ayumi's voice snapped him out of it. He approached the windows as well, peering out in the utter darkness. He gripped his fingers onto the handle of the window and tugged at it himself, but still wasn't convinced there was absolutely no way to the outside... Then again, he doubted outside was where they needed to be. If escaping was as simple as leaving the front exit, not so many would have died.

Deciding not to think about it much longer, he followed Ayumi out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He was thankful to leave that slip of paper and drawing behind, but his relief soon turned to fear. Down, further in the blackness of the hall, was a dim blue light, but it seemed larger than the small orb they had run into earlier. Also, it looked as if... it was coming closer... Was it just him or... was it really coming towards them? Just in case, he stepped in front of Ayumi, putting on his bravest face, even though his trembles were uncontrollable.

It wasn't a trick of his eyes... The light really was growing brighter! It also began taking more of a human shape. A small human, but human nonetheless. He stepped back with each tap that echoed down the hall, forcing Ayumi to take a step just as he had done. However, as the glow got closer and closer, he found it hard to move, until he was frozen all together. He stared, and it peered back at him. It was the form of a little boy, blood gushing from his mouth and abdomen. But, after he blinked, the boy disappeared. His body was still rendered paralyzed, and he felt the air chill.

Ayumi froze when the the blue form of a child appeared. She trembled as the very much human shape, with spots of blood gushing, came closer and closer. It was a much more terrifying aura she got from this ghost than the small blue flame previously. A malicious intent almost seemed to pour from the dead boy. Ayumi looked down, not making eye contact with the ghost. She could feel its dark presence disappear.

_**"Wh...what was that, Kishinuma?"** he heard Ayumi ask from behind, coming closer to him. In that split instant, he regained control, and he turned back to her._

_**"I... don't really know...,"** he muttered, his voice still shaking from the close encounter. But he was still alive, right? That was a good sign... and Ayumi was okay too.**"Whatever it was, it looks to have disappeared...,"** he said, trying to calm himself down. Though, he only felt himself become more and more tense, and he was starting out to break into a cold sweat._

_**"Kishinuma... are you ok?"**Ayumi asked with concern, but then her face changed to utter horror. She screamed and fell down, and before he could react, a fierce blow to his head knocked him to the ground, leaving him barely conscious. His blurred vision showed only the sight of a horrified Ayumi, frozen in fear. At this point, his body was in complete refusal to move, and he heard the thumping of heavy boots, which then blocked his vision of Ayumi. Next, he heard a snipping noise, like... the sound of extremely sharp scissors. He lost all sense of rationality and began screaming as loudly as he could, his heart thumping wildly as the sound drew closer._

In reality, the boy _had_ disappeared, but Yoshiki had held a long period of silence, his eyes fogging over. Without warning, he fell to the ground, convulsing.

Ayumi paused, staring at the spot the ghost was in. She glanced at Yoshiki, unable to see his expression since she was behind him. She yelped as he suddenly hit the floor in convulsions, and she went into panic.

**"Kishinuma! What's wrong?"** Ayumi yelled in worry, unable to grasp what was happening and why it was. She had no idea what to do! Was he having a seizure? It seemed like it... What was she taught in health class? Put a pillow under their head and just wait for it to ride out? She looked around, well aware that she had absolutely nothing that could be of help. She crouched to the ground, moving so that way his head could rest on her lap as her hands held onto his shoulders in an attempt to _keep him still. _She could do nothing but watch and try to calm his convulsions down. **"C'mon Kishinuma! You can't die,"** she told him firmly.

_Snip... sniip... sniiip... Yoshiki heard the sounds coming closer and closer to his face, and his frantic calls for help or attempts to move his body were proving to be futile. Then, a new sound pierced his ears. Ayumi. A guttural scream overran any other noise, and it sparked a new kind of fear in him. It didn't make the fear for himself disappear, but it only added to the absolute despair and hopelessness that was overcoming him. **"Shi... nozaki!"**he attempted to yell out, but his voice was dying out as his brain tried to shut down. Next came gurgles and choking noises, then all became silent, except for that infernal snipping. He was being driven into insanity within the time span of a few minutes, even though it felt like hours... But finally, the sharp, bloodied scissors came into his line of sight, the point of the blades resting directly in front of his eye. His mind was an absolute flurry of thoughts, but one thing was for certain... His... life was over..._

_**"...inuma! You can't die."**_ ? Yoshiki flung upwards, going into a frenzy of panicked breaths and coughs. His lungs were burning, as if they had been denied oxygen for a prolonged amount of time, and his brain was dizzied. With shaking hands, he quickly placed them on the back of his head, searching for the wound he had received, but nothing was there. Not even the blood could be felt. _What...?_ He pulled his arm over his mouth as his coughs continued, but still was thinking of what had just happened. _Shinozaki! What happened... to her?!_ he quickly thought, taking his arm away, and looking at his surroundings. It didn't take him long to find her, sitting almost directly behind him. She looked fine, other than the panicked expression she wore. However, he was unable to ask what had happened, as his lungs were still catching up.

Ayumi jumped slightly as Yoshiki regained consciousness. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him in confusion and worry. She watched as he touched the back of his head and then began to cough frantically. But, he was breathing and seemed to be okay, except for a loss of breath. She let out a huge sigh of relief. **"Good. I was worried you were dying,"** she said. She wasn't sure she could make it through this place without Yoshiki... which may be selfish of her, but it was true. **"Kishinuma, what happened?"** she asked after a long pause to let him try to get his breathing fixed.

Yoshiki recovered after a few moments, but his chest still burned, and his head was beginning to ache. Despite these small inconveniences, he was glad that had not been reality... As Ayumi asked him his version of what happened, he shifted position, so he wouldn't have to turn his head so far to look at her. **"I... I'm not... very sure...,"** he said slowly, placing a hand on his head, **"There was this spirit kid, and I couldn't move... He disappeared, and then... I got hit in the head with something..."** He recalled the loud thud as he was hit, the pain feeling so real... **"But... looks like that didn't really happen..,"** he said with a small, dry laugh, **"I guess... I was hallucinating? That's really all I can figure…"**

Ayumi listened to the story with a worried look. **"Yeah, it must have been. The ghost really did come near us, though,"** she mentioned, hoping to clear up how the events actually occurred. **"Then he left, and then you collapsed to the floor. You were convulsing... it kinda seemed like a seizure or something,"** she said as she stood up, picking up the candle she had placed on the floor. She brushed some dirt off the hem of her skirt, a trivial thing but a comfort, still. **"I'm glad you're okay,"** she told him with a light smile. **"But, we really need to get back to looking for Mochida and the others,"** she told him, her eyes focused on the length of the dark hallway.

Yoshiki paused, sorting through this information. That would explain why a portion of his energy was gone, and why his lungs burned... It also was weird that he was about to die in his hallucination, and also in reality. Though, he was extremely thankful Ayumi had yelled out to him... or so it sounded. If the blow to his head felt real, he didn't really want to experience those cold blades stabbing into his eye. Noticing Ayumi start to stand, he followed suit, unsure of where he had dropped his candle. For all he knew, it could've dropped into one of those abysses. He didn't really care enough about it to waste energy looking, and plus, with it gone, he could have an excuse to linger closer to Ayumi... until she decided to give him another one, he guessed. **"... Right,"** he quietly agreed, feeling the sting of Satoshi's name once more. But, he did his best to push those feelings of jealousy away. After all, Satoshi was his friend too. He couldn't let this make him angry at Satoshi, since he had never done anything to him personally. **"Oh... and thanks...,"** he muttered, looking away briefly, **"For... snapping me out of it..."** After all, he was fairly certain that voice had been her's, and that it had saved his mind from being completely consumed. Even if she wasn't aware of it, she was deserving of his sincere gratitude.

Ayumi looked confused at his gratitude, then curious once as he continued to speak.**"Oh? You actually heard me? You seemed so out of it, I thought I was just talking to myself,"** she admitted. His eyes had been unfocused, his body moved erratically, there didn't seem to be any consciousness about him. She was pretty amazed her voice had managed to make it through the hallucination. **"Are you sure it was me, or was it just part of the hallucination?"** she questioned, as she began to walk. She wasn't doubting Yoshiki's claim, more like trying to piece it apart to see if that really worked. If that was the case, it was a good thing to keep in mind. Although, why had Yoshiki had such an illusion and not her? She was becoming sick of questions and just wanted answers. She missed her computer, any of these occult questions had a good chance of being answered by some paranormal investigator blog.

Yoshiki followed her closely, looking back to her as the embarrassing part was passed. **"I'm... pretty sure,"** he answered, thinking back on the moment. The blow, the scream, the scissors... then the voice. He couldn't be confusing it for something the fake Ayumi said, right? **"You said... to not die, right? It couldn't have been the you I saw, since...,"** he paused, hearing the sounds of her choking and gurgling, as if drowning in her own blood... He looked to the ground, his hands balling into fists. He had failed to protect her... Even though it was a figment of his imagination, she had died in a situation that seemed far too real... He never wanted to her those sounds again. _Never_.

Ayumi nodded slowly as he asked her what she said, but as his voice trailed off her attention diverged. **"I was in the hallucination?"** she questioned, looking at him in a way that demanded a deeper explanation. As they walked along the corridor, she kept the light away from her towards the direction they were heading. So far, it seemed moderately safe... as safe could be in this place. The holes in the floors were still there, but the putrid smell had dissolved the most it had since being in the building. On the other hand, she was beginning to feel a weird pressure. She took it as her nerves just being shot, though. She felt mentally exhausted from this place already, and she had a feeling they had barely scraped the surface of what it held.

**"Well, you know... You didn't just disappear... but... after I got hit over the head, it sounded like... you got killed,"** Yoshiki said, his expression growing darker. He desperately wanted to switch the conversation, so he could stop thinking about the noises, but he didn't have any ideas that wouldn't sound completely out of place. **"...I was about to die, too, I think, when I heard you,"** he continued after another short pause.

Ayumi hesitated in hearing that, looking straight at the ground. **"Oh,"** was the only reply she could muster. Did the ghost have control over that? It was almost certain that the ghost was the catalyst to the hallucination, it seemed. Maybe they'd be best just not looking at it, if they ever encountered it again. She turned her head, about to explain the thought she just had when suddenly everything went black…


	3. Chapter 3

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

Some things in the original story line are drastically changed, otherwise it would mostly be a repeating of the game. If you see something different, or if an area is in the wrong place, you do not need to inform me.

* * *

Ayumi's body halted from it's progress, her eyes becoming wide and hollow. Her grip released the candle in her hand, causing it to hit the ground and roll away from her. She stood in one place, staring ahead intensely with wild eyes. Suddenly, she in took a long painful sounding breath. **"Ooooooouuuuggghhhhh,"** her body moaned. Then, she was suddenly reanimated and took sprinting down the hallway, her footsteps loud against the wooden floors. She ran, ran, ran, past doors and diverging hallways into a classroom that was a straight run from her progress. She made her way into the corner, halting once again. Her face was transfixed in a large, curled smile. Her eyes were wide, crazy, focusing on the wall in front of her.

Yoshiki felt himself grow anxious as their silence carried on, feeling like not talking would only make his brain duller. However, Ayumi stopped in her tracks, shocking Yoshiki to halt a few steps in front of her. **"Shinozaki?" **he asked, gazing at her hollow eyes. He had... a really bad feeling about those dark, dead eyes... Next came her sickly moan. His expression grew worried, and he hesitantly reached out to touch her shoulder, but before he could, she dashed down the hall, departing from the safety of the candle's glow. Without a second thought, he charged after her, thoughtlessly leaving the candle behind. He didn't care about the dangers looming around him, and he didn't have time to wonder what in the Hell had come over her. He just needed to find her.

He ran in a beeline down the halls, disregarding the possible pits in the floor, his feelings prevailing over his care for his own well being. He quickly came upon a door that had been wrenched open and hurriedly entered, looking about the room. His eyes hadn't yet adjusted to the dark, so he was left to trust that any dark figures could be her. The lower shadows were most likely desks and chairs, and the black close to the ground was assumed to be a hole. But one particular looming shape gave him the feel of a human, causing him to go forward with hope. **"Shinozaki?! What's wrong?"** he asked as he approached, slightly breathless.

_**"NO ONE IS SAYING THAT!"**_ Ayumi screamed into the corner. She paused for a second, her eyes unblinkingly staring into the darkness. **"Today is my daughter's birthday. She's turning seven. We're going out together to celebrate,"** she said quietly, her tone hollow and unsettling. The pause was much as she shorter as she went into her next seemingly random tangent. _**"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! THAT'S DISGUSTING. AAAAAAHH!"**_ she yelled, spilling over right into another yell. _**"WHY ARE YOU BOTH LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT?!"**_ she screamed, dragging on the last word until she used up her breath. Suddenly, Ayumi's legs gave up and she fell to the floor quickly, with a loud clank of wood around her hitting each other. Her eyes were still focused towards the wall, the crazy grin had dispersed.

Startled by her yelling, Yoshiki took a few steps back, staring wide-eyed as she screamed at nothingness, her words equally nonsensical. _What... what do I do? She's gone nuts... or something... Can I even do anything?_ The thought of being helpless enraged him. He couldn't fail, he couldn't let Ayumi fall victim to whatever was happening to her... He peered down at her with a new found determination, covering the steps he had back tracked, knelling down next the wall so he could face her. _I don't particularly want to be rough with her... but it looks like my voice alone won't do anything for her... After all, our feelings are different.._, he thought, taking in a deep breath. He grabbed both of her shoulders, softly shaking her at first. If that didn't work, he was going to have no choice but to get rougher.**"Shinozaki! Snap out of it!"** he shouted.

Ayumi's eyes widened, then her body jerked in the manner of a person being shocked awake from a bad dream. Ayumi blinked, looking at Yoshiki with a confused expression.**"Huh?"** she asked. In the darkness, it was hard to see where they were but she felt like she just missed something. Where was the candle she was holding? She noticed a pressure on her shoulders, and her eyes then drifted to his hands. She felt very lost on what was happening. They were talking... about Yoshiki's hallucination and then blank. Was she beginning to lose her mind? It wouldn't be impossible, given their location. She had been looking around, and her eyes met Yoshiki's. She could tell his concern, making her wonder what was going on even more-so. **"Kishinuma, what's wrong?"** she asked, her voice laced in confusion.

As their eyes met, a wave of relief washed over Yoshiki. It's like he could see the shine back into her eyes. He released her shoulders and rolled back to sit, letting out a long held breath. He looked to Ayumi again, frowning. Should he tell her? He didn't want her to worry about it... He'd like to keep as much weight as possible off of her mind, but... This seemed important. **"You... ran down the hall and then started sputtering nonsense. It was really weird,"** he admitted, rubbing the back of his head, **"I thought you had gone crazy."**

Ayumi's eyebrows furrowed as she tilted her head. **"Huh?"** she responded, genuinely unsure how to respond. She didn't even remember doing such a thing. **"I don't..."** she began to say but it dissolved into a frown. She wasn't sure if she wanted Yoshiki to spell out exactly what supposedly happened. She would tell him he was hallucinating again, but her lapse in memory and jump to a new location made it hard to blame him. She suddenly stood up, crossing her arms over her chest. **"We need to get moving,"** she told him. **"We keep wasting time, and the others could be in trouble,"** she said, walking around him in the darkness. She didn't want to discuss what just happened. She just wanted to find Satoshi. Everything will be find once she finds him.

Yoshiki stared at the floor, feeling a looming danger. Should they really be ignoring this? Well, it was her choice... He slowly stood, following her closely with his hands in his pockets. **"Yeah, true..,"** he muttered. It seemed there were endless ways to die in this school, and it felt like they've only touched on the surface. The odds of one of their friends being in trouble was frighteningly high, but their odds of running into something was no smaller. They had already encountered a number of things that threatened their life, like the ghosts, holes in the floor, and whatever had killed the girl from Seisei in the blood stained room. He grew silent, looking at the form in front of him that was slowly turning visible as his eyes dilated. Ayumi... There were so many dangers, and he was unsure if he could avoid them all or protect her indefinitely. Chills ran down his spine as he recalled his illusion, wondering if it really was only a trick, or if that heavy-sounding creature really existed. If he got hit in the head like that in reality, he could do little to prevent anything happening to Ayumi. His best chance, he realized, was to tell her to run in such an instance... and he'd have to accept that...**"We passed a lot of doors... Should we go back or continue through the halls first?"** he asked, desperately wanting to get his mind away from thoughts of death.

Ayumi felt relieved when Yoshiki decided not to push the topic of her small blackout on her. As they stepped back into the hallway, she realized she needed to light another candle. How many had they lost already? Sure, she had a lot... but to run out of them wouldn't be good. Plus, she only had so many matches as well. She swiped the match and watched it light up in flames. She held it up to the fresh candle and watched as the candle took the fire. She blew out the match and discarded it to the floor. It's not like littering in the school would hurt it, it was already in dismal conditions. The candle made her feel a little better, but the longer they went without seeing anyone else, the more worried she became. She looked over to Yoshiki when he began to speak. She looked thoughtful as she tried to decide which would be better. The hallways weren't giving them much of anything, except ghosts. At least the classrooms seem to have some fliers and other papers scattered about them. **"Let's check the rooms,"** she replied. She walked up to the first one she saw, and grabbed at the handle. She yanked, and it opened slightly with an awful _screeeeech_. Ayumi kept trying to pull at it, but it would go beyond the cracked position she initially pulled it in. She stepped back and looked at Yoshiki expectantly. If she couldn't open it all the way, surely he could manage, right?

Yoshiki squinted as the match was lit. Even though it was dim, his eyes had already partially grown used to the darkness. But, he'd rather come back to dim light than have to traverse this school with low visibility. He watched Ayumi pull at a door, flinching as it screeched, the high pitched noise causing his headache to grow from dull to pulsating. He sighed, guessing the best thing to do about it was try and not give it much attention. He stood in silence for a moment, before noticing Ayumi was looking at him, expecting him to do an action of some sort.

The preceding moment was a little awkward, but he brushed it off and approached the door, wrapping his hand under the handle. He jerked at it, and in response, the door let out a splitting noise. It sounded as if it'd break sooner than open, but he head successfully moved it a few more inches. He took a step back, wondering if he should actually try and break the door so it would open further. It'd take a lot of effort, and energy he wasn't sure that he had. He looked to the gap in the door, then to Ayumi. It'd be a lot easier for them to just slip in. While he wasn't sure if he could fit, he'd rather do that than waste away his energy. **"It's pretty brittle... I can try breaking it further, or we could just squeeze in,"** he mentioned simply, placing a hand on his side.

Ayumi stared at him, waiting. Yoshiki finally caught her gaze, and a long pause followed. She was about to say he should try to move it, but he finally moved towards the door so she kept her silence. She flinched, unable to cover her eyes given the fact the was clutching her candle. He managed to pull the gap large enough that she could pretty easily slip in. His question was met with a small shake of her head. **"We can squeeze in,"**she told him. She didn't wait for him to speak as she head to the door. She stuck her hand with the candle in first and slid in sideways. She had to suck her gut in a little but there was no real issue in getting her in the room. Although, she was unsure if Yoshiki could manage. She looked away from the door, holding out her light. In the dim hum of the light, she could make out a body silhouette by the window.

Ayumi, shocked by the sight let out a quick yell, resulting in the other person to let out a scream. Ayumi, trembling, stepped closer into the room. Her head didn't feel as it had when the ghosts approached, so she was unsure of what exactly she was looking at. As she moved closer into the room, she noticed another girl. She had a white and green uniform. Her hair was cut down to her shoulders and was brown, like her eyes. Both of them stared at each other for a moment. **"Who are you?"**Ayumi asked, staring at the girl in confusion. There were other students in this place? Did they get here because of the Sachiko charm as well? Ayumi had to acknowledge the dim disappointment thrumming through her, because she had wanted to meet her own classmates, not a stranger. Still, another human being was better than anything else they could have ran into.

**"I'm Yamamoto Mitsuki,"** the girl responded, her voice tight in an attempt to avoid quivering.

Yoshiki watched her effortlessly slip in, going to the opening himself. If she got in so easily, he could probably manage with minimal difficulties. Though he got slightly stuck, he was able to push himself through, but with a cost of his balance. Luckily, though, he was able to catch himself on a desk. He dusted himself off, before looking up, hearing Ayumi talking to someone that definitely wasn't himself. He came close to Ayumi's side, looking over the girl sitting before them. She was human! A living, breathing human! Just the mere thought eased his anxiety, even though he didn't know this girl particularly. His look returned to his normal unimpressed-looking expression, one that made him seem uncaring and rude. He stepped closer to the trembling girl. **"Kishinuma Yoshiki,"** he replied after she introduced herself. He wondered how long she had sat in this room, alone, in the dark. He held out his hand to help her up if she needed it.

Ayumi watched silently as the sniveling girl hesitantly took Yoshiki's hand. Ayumi wasn't one hundred percent sure, since the room was still dark except for her small candle, but she was pretty sure the girl was blushing. Once Mitsuki was on her feet, she glanced questioningly over to Ayumi who realize she had yet to introduced herself. **"I'm Shinozaki Ayumi. We're from Kisaragi Academy,"**she explained. It felt a little surreal that there was another person. Mitsuki blinked, as if trying to remember if she had ever heard of the school.

Mitsuki responded, **"I'm from Byakudan Senior High School."** Ayumi had never heard of that particular school, but such details really didn't matter at this point. Still, the conversation was the most normal thing to happen since they got there. **"I-I'm so happy to finally see other people," **Mitsuki said.

**"How long have you been here?"**Ayumi asked with sympathy. If Yoshiki hadn't found her in that room she was first in... well she would have probably ended up passing out because of her hyperventilating.

**"I... I was with other classmates, but we got separated. I ended up in this room, but the doors were stuck so I couldn't get out,"** Mitsuki explained with downcast eyes as if she was recalling the event. She frowned, not speaking past that. It seems like she didn't want to give too many details on the separation of herself and her classmates. Ayumi focused more on the fact that there were in fact even more people around. She was hoping her next encounter with another person to be Mochida or Ms. Shishido, but their luck had been nonexistent so that probably wouldn't be the case.

Yoshiki, once she was standing, retracted his hand and placed it into his pocket. He listened to her account of how she ended up in here, but it was still a wonder how she got stuck in here if she didn't start in here. After all, the door was stuck pretty firmly, and if the other door was the same, she couldn't have gotten in here in the first place... He decided he'd classify it as something unexplainable. After all, there seemed to be ghosts about, and 'they' tended to like shutting doors behind people... At least, on TV.**"Sounds simple enough... We can look for them all together,"** he suggested. He and Ayumi didn't have any particular place they were headed to. They were more or less wondering about, for their friends and hints on how to get out of here. Plus, the more the merrier, especially in this situation.

**"Thank you so much!"** Mitsuki said quickly, as if afraid the two would just leave her. Ayumi really wondered what went down if her and her friends. She could easily chalk it up to being the ghosts messing around with them, but maybe the events happened because of her friends. Either way, Ayumi couldn't see pressing her about it. She walked around the room, scanning for items that would be helpful. As she was walking, her foot kicked something causing it to slide across the floor with a _clink_ and for Ayumi to yelp. Mitsuki jumped slightly, looking at the other girl. **"What was that?" **she asked, as if slightly annoyed that Ayumi accidentally scared her.

Ayumi took a few steps forward, her toes a little sore from kicking something metallic. She crouched down and picked up a metal nail remover. It was built with handles that one would squeeze around a nail and be able to pull them out. She remembered seeing her dad use them when he was building a dog house. **"They're nail removers,"** she explained, squeezing the handle experimentally. **"They're kinda rusted, they don't clench very well,"** she noticed as her small hand clenched to squeeze the clamps together. She held the candle in her other hand up to them to get a better look and screamed, dropping the nail removers. **"T-they have blood on them!"** Ayumi said, stepping away from them. She looked at her hand, crusted off blood on them.

Yoshiki didn't jump at the sound, but that wasn't to say he wasn't startled. He looked in Ayumi's direction, wondering if she was ok, but it looked like she just got frightened, or something. He left to come behind her, glancing at the tool Ayumi held. He couldn't see it well until the light was held closer, but he didn't get a good opportunity to examine them as Ayumi screamed, making him step back a little, completely unsuspecting of such a reaction. Once he pulled it together, though, he looked back in the area Ayumi had dropped it in, wandering closer.

He crouched down to the floor, seeing if he could make out it's silhouette. While it was covered in blood, it could prove to be useful... Like bashing something open, or actually be used for what it was intended. He was dealing a lot with blood, more so than he'd like. His hand was still dirtied from when he had rummaged for that student ID, so he figured he'd use that hand to search for it and grab it. **"It could be useful though...,"** he said in a low tone, even disgusted with himself. This had probably been used to kill someone... but the best thing to do, for their own well-being, was to take advantage of what they found. Not using it wouldn't prevent a death that had already passed. He stood, examining the tool. It's rusting was blending in with the blood stains, so he could gather that it was pretty old, so it wouldn't last a whole lot of uses. But having it was better than leaving it behind. **"I guess that's all in this room,"** he said as he turned. He felt extremely cold hearted and distant at this point, but beneath his guilt for disregarding the life of those who had died, he knew he was doing the right thing.

Ayumi watched Yoshiki go for the tool she dropped. She could understand why he would want it, but she couldn't get over the thought of it being used to hurt or kill someone. Was it used to bash in someone's head? Or did it rip the teeth out of someone's mouth? Rip off finger nails, or even twisting the fingers off the hand completely? She was freaking herself out, her breathing becoming slightly erratic as she wiped her hand off on her skirt. The flecks of blood scattered. **"Right," **Ayumi responded, heading for the door right away and slipping out. Outside, by herself for that second she was waiting for the other two, she took a huge breath. She would have to come to accept that in every room and hallway, there were traces of death. It was a hard thing to just accept though. The pain, misery, fear, and hatred coursed through the school like blood in her body. She felt the overwhelming presence of death. But, they had to find Mochida and the others. They also had to help Mitsuki. She had others to worry about and couldn't let herself begin hyperventilating. She had to be brave for their sake's.

Mitsuki slipped out after Ayumi, not noticing the other girl's slightly quicker breather.**"How much of the school have you two seen?"** Mitsuki asked, wondering where the three of them would be headed next.

Yoshiki was the last to leave, getting out easier than he had come in. He was thankful for that, since he didn't really wanted to fall on either of the girls, the floor, or tumble into one of the holes. Not only would all be painful, they'd be awfully embarrassing, even though one could lead to his death. It'd be quite a pitiful death on his part. Noticing Ayumi's panicked breaths, he decided he'd answered Mitsuki. **"Just a couple of rooms and down this hall. We haven't been here for long. How about you?"** he asked.

**"I've seen a couple rooms, and i'm not really sure what hallways I've been down. The only thing of interest was the infirmary,"** Mitsuki told him, becoming unsettled at the mention of the medical room. **"But... there was a ghost in there, so we ran away,"**she said, as if embarrassed for being so cowardly.

Ayumi didn't consider that a cowardly move, considering you have to do what you can to survive in here. Her thoughts went back to the ghost they had encountered that sent Yoshiki into the hallucination She could easily envision the young ghost. Well, the ghost may of been pretty old as far as she knew. The appearance was that of a young boy, though. **"What did the ghost look like?" **Ayumi questioned, trying to focus her breathing back down to normal. It was working decently enough.

**"Oh... it..."** Mitsuki began to speak, her eyes narrowing at the ground at the memory. **"I only got a quick glimpse... but it looked like a little girl..."** Ayumi was beginning to feel concerned for this pattern. Were all these ghosts children? Though, she then noticed Mitsuki was just pausing before she added on to the ghost's description.**"...With the top of her head cut off,"** Mitsuki choked out.

Yoshiki paused, looking down like Mitsuki had done. A ghost girl? There appeared to be a running theme... Though, he wasn't expecting to hear something like half of her head missing. He almost gagged, but held it back. He had to keep himself calm collected... He looked to her, frowning. **"A ghost girl... We ran into a ghost too, though it was a boy. His stomach was cut open...,"** he said, recalling the glowing figure. He got a good look at it, unfortunately. He didn't tell her about his hallucination, though, as he didn't want to put the thoughts back into his head. **"I can't help but feel those two are responsible for a lot that has happened here,"** he muttered, looking to Ayumi in the front, wondering if she had the same guess.

**"Do you remember the story I told?"** Ayumi asked Yoshiki, referring to her scary story from earlier. **"Heavenly Host was shut down in... 1973? I think that was the year. It was torn down because of the string of serial kidnappings and murders... maybe these kids are victims?" **Ayumi asked, sounding not completely sure of herself. She knew the Heavenly Host Elementary School story well, spending hours looking up information on it. Still, she thought it matched up well enough.

**"Heavenly Host? Wait, I think I've heard of that... but it was torn down," **Mitsuki argued lightly, unsure of how the other girl had come to the conclusion that was where they were.

**"Kishinuma found a paper that confirmed that for us,"** Ayumi explained. **"And it was torn down... but it could exist on another spiritual plane... I mean, it must." **Mitsuki was looking at Ayumi as if she had grown another head. **"I really like occult stuff,"** Ayumi explained with a light smile, as if to let Mitsuki know why she was saying what she was. **"I've spent a lot of time researching this stuff. My sister is actually a psychic."** Mitsuki did not appear anymore comforted by Ayumi's explanation.

Yoshiki nodded, recalling the creepy story about that teacher... how helped, and how priceless Satoshi's reaction had been. So, other than that, there were more instances dealing with death in Heavenly Host? No wonder it got torn down... But still, for something to exist on a totally different plane than reality was very hard to accept.**"Maybe... That would give sense to their air of malice, I guess...," **he answered, recalling the violent feeling that had taken hold of him from the boy, and the paper.

He didn't even question her talk about the spirit world, but realized shortly after there was someone among them who didn't know about the horror rep. of class 2-9. **"Don't worry, you'll get used to her weird,"** he commented after Ayumi's attempts to explain didn't seem to help the girl. Even though it was true her interests were strange, he was thankful for them. At least they weren't going into this completely blind in the ways of the spiritual realm. **"If we found that newsletter, maybe there are some other articles that will give us a better idea of what we're dealing with,"** he said after looking back to Ayumi.

Mitsuki looked at Yoshiki as he spoke to her. What he said must have comforted her enough, since her face relaxed and she smiled lightly. There was a blush on her cheeks again that Ayumi raised an eyebrow at but disregarded it past that. Ayumi looked tempted to argue against her being weird in front of the new girl, but she's heard it enough from people who didn't get the occult stuff that it didn't really faze her. Her classmates always teased her about it anyways, she didn't mind it most the time. As time went on, her intense feelings of longing for her friends was become harder and harder to deal with. **"Yeah, it wouldn't hurt to look for them. At this point we're just scrambling for something..." **she admitted. She looked down to her candle, watching the wax slipping down it and bubbling around the metal plate it sat on.

**"I just had an idea!"** she said happily as she knelt down by a wall. She turned the candle sideways, allowing the wax to plop to the floor. She then took her candle and sat it in the wax, holding it for a few seconds until the wax held the candle upright on the floor. **"Anyone in our class will recognize these, right?"**Ayumi asked Yoshiki as she stood back up to look at the burning candle. **"So, we can light them all around the school building. They'll be like signal flares for Mochida and the others,"**she explained. She felt some of the anxiety that had been building up release as she explained her idea, giving her hope that it would help them meet back up with their friends. She took out another candle and lit it with the sitting candle's flame.

Mitsuki appeared to be trying to follow along, but was out of the loop on what the candles even meant. She also appeared to be confused why Ayumi had candles, and a lot of them at that it seemed, if she was willing to scatter them around the school.

Yoshiki watched as Ayumi set the candle on the floor, smiling slightly. **"Oh, right. There's not hardly a person in Kisaragi that wouldn't recognize your horror props, especially students from 2-9,"** he agreed. That way, the others could know that they were alright, and maybe even follow the trail. It sounded like a pretty good idea, and once again, he was thankful for her interest in the occult. But now, with the addition of a person, they had to choose yet again what they were going to do.**"Well, are we still back tracking? Or going on ahead?"** he asked, and now, the decision was up for voting.

**"Go on ahead, right?"**Mitsuki asked, looking between them. She obviously didn't seem to see any sense in backtracking. If there was anything for them there, they would have already grabbed it, right?"

Ayumi pressed her curled pointed finger against her lips as she thought. **"Maybe... we should go back to that small ghost we saw,"** Ayumi suggested. Mitsuki let out a questioning noise. **"Ah! Oh, I mean, it wasn't like the children ghost... it was a small blue flame. It had information... but I..."** she frowned. If only she hadn't hyperventilated, resulting in Yoshiki tugging her away from the corpse so she could get her normal breathing back. **"We didn't take advantage of it."**

**"Y-you want to talk to a flame?"**Mitsuki questioned, stepping back towards Yoshiki. She didn't dislike Ayumi, but she was finding her to be weirder and weirder. Yoshiki seemed like a normal, nice boy who was interested in everyone's well being.

**"I mean, we can always just go ahead and collect what we can, and then head back if it still seems like it'd be useful,"** Ayumi responded with a small wave of her hand. **"Maybe we'll just end up running into a different soul that can help us. So, i'm okay either way,"** she explained. At this point, Ayumi didn't see a wrong way to go. She looked at Yoshiki, **"What do you think?"**

Yoshiki looked between the two, somehow knowing it'd come down to his vote. He looked pensive as his gaze set on the ceiling, thinking back to the girl who seemed to have fallen to her death. If she had fell, that meant there had to be a second floor or roof access, and that sparked his curiosity more. Plus, he didn't want to have to see that body again, or let Ayumi hear the news about their friends while she was doing better. **"I'd say... go forward. I doubt that spirit was the last one we'll see, and I'm more curious about what's ahead than what's in the rooms we skipped,"** he said after only a minute of thought. He was pretty dead set on not seeing that girl again anytime soon, but he didn't want to plug that into his reasoning.

Mitsuki seemed happy in his choice, probably because she didn't want to talk to the spirit anytime soon. Ayumi was fine with the choice, given the fact she hadn't forgotten the dead body in the path. Still, if she had to... she frowned to herself, as the memory sent chills up and down her spine. She was sort of hoping that the dead bodies would disappear somehow... like in a video game when the killed enemies hit the ground and dissolved. This definitely wasn't one of her PSP games, though.**"Alright, lets go,"** Ayumi said, as she began walking again. She paused, glancing at the other girl who still seemed unsettled. It must be rough, Ayumi realized, being with two strangers and hoping you'll run into one of your own classmates. She took out another candle, lighting it. She turned around in a swift movement and held it out for Mitsuki. **"Do you want your own candle? It makes it a bit easier to move around,"**she explained.

Mitsuki stared at the gesture, smiling lightly with a nod. **"Thank you,"** she responded, taking the candle. Ayumi smiled at her before turning around and continuing walking. She would give Yoshiki one, but having three candles out at once seemed a little wasteful. Besides, the candle was more of a gesture towards Mitsuki than an actual necessity.

Yoshiki followed suit, now staying in the middle of the two light holders. He didn't mind not having one of his own. Actually, he preferred having a free hand, especially now that his other was taken up by the nail puller. Though, now that there were two candle carriers, he didn't have an excuse to linger close to Ayumi specifically, and therefore found it more awkward. So, now, instead of being nearer to her, he was actually gravitating towards Mitsuki's light source without much thought to his actions. Being closer to Ayumi was nice, but _she_probably didn't find his close proximity to be so wonderful.

After a small amount of wandering, they approached a staircase, and halfway up the flight, there was light. Actual, working lights! He already liked this a lot better.

Ayumi didn't see Yoshiki hovering closer to Mitsuki, her eyes staring ahead of her in determination. Mitsuki, on the other hand, became very aware of the boy's presence, her face lighting up to a dark red. Ayumi's eyes burned a little as she saw lighting coming from the second floor. They had been so use to the same flickering light, anymore than that caused her to flinch and hood her eyes with her free hand. She stepped upstairs, staring up. **"I... how?" **Ayumi muttered, her eyes narrowing at the light as if it was a trick.

**"It's so nice to have lights,"** Mitsuki said with a huge sigh of relief. The candles had been okay, but the lighting was a huge relief. Although, seeing the school in light didn't make it look any better. The holes in the floorboards were now fully visible, meaning she wouldn't have to be so worried about falling into them. She also finally managed to get a good look at her new companions, and she noticed that Yoshiki was in fact attractive in the light as well. She caught herself staring at him, though, and quickly looked towards the ground with a blush.

Yoshiki wasn't as skeptical as Ayumi was being, going up the stairs. **"Thank God,"** he said, meaning it. The actual lights were so much better... Going to the second floor started seeming like the best way they could have gone, even though now more horrible sights were visible, he'd take it over barely being able to see two feet in front of him. He looked to Mitsuki, noticing her looking towards the floor with a face of red. He brushed it off without much thought, going up the rest of the stairs. Seeing the hallways lit made his anxiety melt away, but that didn't mean he was free of fear. There could be anything lurking around each corner, so he still made sure he was in the front of the group. Down the hall, he saw the sign that was labeled 'Infirmary.' Mitsuki had said there was a ghost in that room, but he couldn't help his curiosity. He glanced back to the girls, motioning for them to stay behind. He tried the door, and it successfully opened without much resistance. He peered in, but saw no glowing apparitions like Mitsuki had claimed. Maybe the girl had left since then... **"She's gone,"** he told the others, entering the room all the way. The room was a simple nurse's Infirmary, having the cabinet of various bottles, a screen that separated the door from the other side of the room, a desk, and two beds. It was a good idea to keep this place in mind if one of them ever got injured or tired. **"Anyone need a rest?"** he asked, looking over the beds. They weren't hardly dusty, which was a little strange, but he guessed they got a lot of use by students like them.

Ayumi did have to admit to herself that the light did take away a ton of uncertainty, but she was left confused. Did electricity work on spiritual planes? Although, it gave her hope that they'd be able to find water as well. She could feel her throat drying up slowly and a small headache from dehydration forming. Ayumi watched as Yoshiki went ahead to check out the infirmary, then gave confirmation of its clearance. Both girls headed into the room, Mitsuki looking around nervously, as if the ghost would make a reappearance. **"I'm fine,"**Ayumi said, not completely honest. The idea of a nap was tantalizing, as hyperventilating always caused her body to weaken. Still, she wouldn't be able to sleep until she saw Mochida and the others. She was looking around the room, the poster of the inner workings of a human catching her eyes. Red was scribbled all over it, like blood.

Mitsuki seemed tempted, but in hearing Ayumi's statement, she tossed aside the desire. **"I'm good, too,"** she said with a smile. Ahh... a nap would've been so nice, but she didn't want to slow those two down.

Yoshiki nodded as the two declined the offer. His body was tired, sure, but his mind was racing. They all had so many question, but hardly any answers. In his searching, he came upon scissors sitting atop the second cabinet, his blood running cold…


	4. Chapter 4

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

Some things in the original story line are drastically changed, otherwise it would mostly be a repeating of the game. If you see something different, or if an area is in the wrong place, you do not need to inform me.

* * *

Yoshiki sat the nail puller on the bed, taking up the scissors. They were covered in blood, just like in his hallucination. He broke into a cold sweat, and seemed transfixed on the blades. The only thing in his head was the image of this exact pair pointed directly at his eye. All other thoughts were put on stand by. If these were real, then..? He quickly put the scissors back in there place, taking away his trembling hand. He grabbed the nail puller back, clenching his fists to stop their shaking. Nothing was for certain... he just had to relax...

Ayumi and Mitsuki watched Yoshiki silently, both noticing his odd behavior when it came to the scissors. They exchanged a quick glance, both being met with just another confused look. Mitsuki took a step towards him tilting her head. **"Kishinuma, are you okay? You can lay down for a bit if you want, we won't care,"** she said gently, a small blush on her face. Ayumi nodded behind the other girl, showing him that she didn't mind if he wanted to rest for a few minutes either. Although, she really did want to keep looking... she didn't want Yoshiki passing out. Still, the scissors seemed to trigger something for him, and she wondered if it went back to his hallucination. Either way, Yoshiki didn't look well at all.

Yoshiki looked between the girls, noticing their worry. **"N-no... I'm fine,"** he lied, and it was a pretty bad one too, as his shakes were still slightly visible and the color had drained from his face. **"There's not really anything of interest here,"** he said quickly, going towards the door, **"But we definitely need to keep this place in mind. It could prove useful down the line."** He exited before the two could question him further, messing with his hair. _C'mon, it's just a coincidence! Get your act together!_ he yelled mentally at himself, taking in a deep breath and exhaling. He did so a few times until his brain recovered from its momentary dizziness. He was going to be fine... After all, it was only an illusion... it wasn't real... He couldn't imagine something he's never seen before!

Ayumi looked unconvinced with the lie, but didn't find it necessary to push him for an answer since he's let her slip certain things under the rug. She glanced back at Mitsuki who had a great deal of concern on her face for him. She didn't put much thought into that, either. She left the infirmary, Mitsuki at her heel. Ayumi watched as Mitsuki walked by her and focused her attention of Yoshiki. **"If you're feeling dizzy, you can lean against me,"** Mitsuki told him, red-faced. She had noticed the small bout of dizziness Yoshiki had been suffering from. Ayumi tilted her head, suddenly understanding some of Mitsuki's actions...

Yoshiki would have liked to decline, but he actually felt unable to take a step just yet. He looked towards the ground, hoping that would help his brain settle. **"Uh... thanks,"**he answered, draping his arm across her shoulders. It felt awkward, but he'd rather be embarrassed than falling to his death because of pride.

Mitsuki seemed surprised that he accepted the offer, but was happy that he did. Her face reddened as his arm draped around her. **"It's no problem,"** she replied to the thanks with a warm smile.

Ayumi watched the two, starting to feel like she was third-wheeling. The feeling was, unfortunately, very familiar. Whenever she was with Naomi and Satoshi... they could get like that. She shrugged the thought away, jealously burning in her stomach. Unsure what to say or do, Ayumi took a few steps into the hallway, walking a few feet away from the two as she walked up to a bulletin board. She began to read one of the messages to herself . _"Due to the recent kidnappings, caution is highly recommended during all daily activities. In each instance, the victim was taken quickly and unexpectedly, so please remain alert and aware at all times. - Principal Takamine Tanagihori. _" It just solidified the knowledge of where they were deeper into her mind.

Yoshiki began to walk forward with part of his weight on Mitsuki, but he made sure he wasn't relying too much on her. He looked up to Ayumi, his face a lot less red, if at all, compared to Mitsuki's. **"Did you find something of interest?"** he asked, noticing she was staring at a paper attached to the wall. Was it another article about Heavenly Host?

Mitsuki didn't seem to have an issue handling what weight Yoshiki gave her, though her voice was escaping her because of how close he was. Ayumi glanced at the two, for only a second before staring back at the papers. **"It's a notice from the principal about keeping alert because of kidnappings,"** she explained with a frown. It had been years ago that the events at the Heavenly Host Elementary School had happened... some pretty twisted events must have occurred to create such a dark, hostile plane. She rubbed her hands together, even with the light in the hallways, their was definitely no heating. **"I don't think I know anything about those kidnappings... the story I read was about the teacher losing her footing and falling down the stairs, dying. After that, the decision was made to shut down the school,"** she explained. **"I've never read anything about kidnappings..."** What exactly was Heavenly Host Elementary School's story?

**"Kidnappings..,"** Yoshiki repeated with a dark expression. Were those kids the victim? He could only assume, at least until they found anything else on the crime. **"I guess this school has a lot more deaths in its history than the story we know, "**he mentioned, but he was unable to imagine just what had happened here to make it the twisted Hell it was. Well, really, did anyone know how much violence and ill will it took to make a supernatural plane? Probably not, so trying to fit this with logic just wasn't going to work.

**"It seems so,"** Ayumi agreed sadly. Mitsuki had mentioned seeing a girl with the top of her head cut off, something that would have happened in her physical life. She trembled, thinking about the pain those children went through. The boy with all that blood... it was the same with him. Some sick bastard was cruel and evil, killing those children. Though, now the ghosts seemed to be malevolent spirits. The boy seemed to have triggered Yoshiki's hallucination... did the ghosts kill as well? It definitely was a possibility, though not one she liked to think of much. The ghosts were powerful and this was their realm. She looked down the hallway, seeing a huge gap in the floor. She walked ahead, looking around it, careful not to get too close. She really didn't want to fall to her death. The hole in the floor was so large, that the other side of the hallway, which was in view, was unapproachable. She quickly backed away from it, nervous even being remotely close to it. **"Guess we can't go that way,"** Mitsuki said, not wanting to approach the hole. It looked uncross-able and that was enough for her.

Yoshiki couldn't say he had any pity for the children. After all, one had tried to take his life, which wasn't ok just because he had died. It's not like he was the one that killed him... As they approached the whole, he sighed. A dead end, which most likely wouldn't be the only one. There were always dead ends. He leaned off of Mitsuki after another moment, feeling that he could safely walk by himself now. **"Thanks,"** he said again, but didn't keep direct eye contact with her. He found it awkward how close he had been to a stranger... But instead of dwelling on it, he looked down the hall to the left, feeling that was the next course of action. **"Guess we change direction,"** he said with a simple shrug, carefully going down the hall.

Mitsuki nodded at his thanks, following quietly behind him. Ayumi trailed behind them, her stomach hurting from the constant anxiety around her. She was beginning to feel her nerves and how shot they were, which wouldn't change until she could get out of this place. If there was even a way out. The soul had admitted there was a slim chance, but that may not even exist. What would happen if they never got home? They'd be ghosts... souls stuck here like what they keep seeing. Their bodies would never be laid to rest, only strewn about for new victims to see. Her head hurt, and she pressed her hands against it. Then she stopped walking when she heard a tinkering noise. She looked down the hallway, trying to locate the very quiet chime. It sounded like... a music box? It may have been, though it must have been old, given the slowed down tune.

The silence made Mitsuki aware of all their footsteps, so when some of the steps disappeared from the mix, she looked behind her to see Ayumi standing there. She was staring intensely down the hall, as if looking or listening to something. **"Shinozaki, what's wrong?"**

**"I thought..."** she said, though once Mitsuki spoke to her, the music was gone. **"I... must be hearing things,"** she responded with a weak smile.

Yoshiki heard the other two stop, causing him to turn out of curiosity. Was Ayumi going crazy again? A swift feeling of worry was soon put to rest, as Ayumi responded. He knew full well it wasn't a great idea to ignore anything they heard, but if she was certain is was nothing, he couldn't argue. It wasn't like he had heard anything, and Mitsuki didn't seem to either, so maybe it was in her head. After all... her nerves were probably shot all to Hell by now... and he was getting there, too. Hopefully he could hold on to his sanity long enough for them to find their classmates. He wished the same for Ayumi. **"If you're certain,"** he said simply, shrugging. As they kept walking, her wondered how big this school really was... It had multiple classrooms, hallways, and for all he knew, more floors. He certainly wouldn't doubt it... Sheesh, they had a lot of ground to cover with such little clear parts of their mind...

Ayumi kept her pace behind them up, making sure to not let herself stop again. She was almost certain she had heard music... it definitely wasn't a tune she recognized it. Though, what was probably a nice little chiming lullaby had slowed and twisted into something haunted sounding. How suited for such a place. Maybe it was just her head compensating for what was happening. She didn't want to lose her mind though... she didn't want to black out again. She stopped when she noticed the next door and the sign next to it. **"Oh, the library,"** she said in surprise, putting the thought of the music out of her head. Why hadn't they thought of that before? Sure, it was an elementary school, but the chances of them keeping articles and such was pretty high. Though, the door was shut and the worry that the door wouldn't open entered her mind... Yoshiki could probably get it open with the nail removers, though, right?

Yoshiki looked up at the sign above the door, then back to the door itself. The Library, huh? Maybe they had information about those kidnappings... Then again, for a school Library to have articles on a kidnapping and killing of it's own students would be a little weird... But, it couldn't hurt to check it out. He noticed Ayumi wasn't going towards it to open, wondering if she wanted him to try. Without receiving a look or verbal cue this time, he want towards the door, first just trying his hand on the faint chance it would open normally. But of course, they were never so lucky... though it did budge, which gave him the idea that it could be opened, unlike other doors they had passed.

He looked at the nail puller and figured he could use as a make shift crowbar. He slammed the bottom end in between the two doors, checking to make sure it was stable enough to work. He motioned for the two to step back, in case the door splintered or the very high possibility that the rusted tool would break. He began pushing the other end, not pausing as his hands began to burn and the nail puller started bowing. He was surprised it was holding up this well, and even more so as the wood cracked before the rust-covered tool. Finally, the doors gave under pressure, opening. However, near the end, the nail puller did break, and therefore was of no more use. He had had a feeling it was only a one time thing...

The girls watched Yoshiki tear the door down. Mitsuki looked quite impressed, meanwhile Ayumi was just interested in what was in the library. She walked past Yoshiki into the library. The room itself was pretty small, a table and a few chairs strewn about. The bookcases towered on every wall, in a way that did not remind Ayumi of an elementary school library. Still, once she walked closer to the books, she could see the titles. They were all tales she was told when she was younger. She was almost tempted to pick one off the shelf and read it to herself, maybe to help her nerves. Even with the light of the second floor, her mind felt as if it was unhinging. She looked up, seeing a piece of paper stuck between a couple books on one of the higher shelves. She walked over to the ladder, which was attached to the wall by a rolling track at its top. She put her foot on the first step, pulling herself on it. It creaked slightly, but seemed to be able to hold her weight just fine. **"I think I see something,"** she explained, looking up. She didn't particularly like heights, and she always found it awkward going up and down ladders. Plus, it was hard to forget that she was wearing a skirt. She shot Yoshiki a pointed look, as if to say if he peeked, he'd regret it. She felt she had to go up there, and she probably weighed the least out of all of them. She began to climb, the ladder only making noise on a few steps. She kept her eyes focused on the books ahead of her, not wanting to look down. She got to the books, grabbing the slip of paper she saw. She didn't want to meander at the top of the ladder, so she slowly made her way down. She let out a huge sigh of relief as she hit the ground, her heart fluttering from nervousness. Her hands were trembling slightly, she had really thought the ladder might give out. She looked down, seeing a newspaper article, with blood stains hiding away chunks of the words.

Yoshiki let the other two enter the library first, throwing the half of the nail puller he held with a clatter. He went in shortly after, eyeing the surroundings. It sure didn't feel like any Elementary Library he had seen, but then again, during that time, he couldn't say he had gone much to the Library... He looked over to Ayumi when he heard her announce a discovery. **"What is it?"** he asked, about to get closer, but then Ayumi shot him a look that made him step back, a confused look on his face. While he was unaware why he deserved such a look, he knew better than to get any closer, just in case. Once she had reached the floor, though, he continued to walk up to her, keeping his bloodied hand in his pocket. **"What does it say?"** he asked her, tilting his head.

Ayumi looked over at Yoshiki, Mitsuki coming around his other side to glance at the piece of paper in her hand. **"[Heavenly Post] Four Children Abducted - followup report,"** Ayumi began to read. **"The brutal, shocking deaths of the recent kidnapped grade-schoolers have now been traced back to the hands of the instructor found in the room with them,"** Ayumi said, pausing. She swallowed tightly, but adopted her reading voice once again, **"The scissors he held are confirmed to have been used to cut out the victims' tongues, ultimately leading to death through excessive bleeding or choking."** Ayumi's trembles began to worsen as she read the bleak, cruel report. Her breathing was becoming shallower. **"One of the victims even had the majority of her head slowly and methodically removed. This cranial mass was found on the floor next to her body."** Mitsuki gasped, being able to link the ghost she saw to the murdered child by that fact. **"The Heavenly Host Elementary students pictured here are the four who were found in that basement room... Of these children one was,"** Ayumi's voice was cut abruptly tears began to cut off her accessed . **"...when investigators arrived at the scene of the crime. She was..."** Ayumi said, her voice trailing. The rest of the article was torn, but she focused on the picture of the children before they died. She gasped, the boy being a spitting image of the ghost they saw earlier. The ghost were undeniably these children.

Yoshiki's look turned more grim as Ayumi carried on, then his blood ran cold again as scissors where mentioned. They came up again... only this time, in an actual murder. That would explain why they had been caked in blood... but why was his eye targeted? The boy wasn't missing any eyes... but maybe he was thinking about it too much. There was no rhyme or reason why his eyes were targeted. Or maybe it was just to increase his dread. After all, staring right at the point, so close to puncturing their target, was terrifying... **"... Four? Does it say anything about the third?"** he asked, trying to play it calm. He was curious, mostly because it seemed all the children had something extra besides a severed tongue. The boy they ran into's guts were sliced out, and the little girl Mitsuki found was lacking half of her head. The article cut off before talking about the fourth specifically, so what about the third? What had happened to them?

Ayumi frowned, flipping the paper over and examining it a bit more before shaking with head. **"Mm... that's it... it looks like someone tore the article,"** she said, looking at the ripped marks at the bottom of the page. How irritating... still, they knew more. **"So... it seems their teacher is the one who killed them,"** she said, staring at the article as her eyes reread it. She trembled at the thought of an adult taking such advantage over the children, it made bile rise to her throat. She held the paper out to Yoshiki, so he could see the picture of the children while they were alive. They all lost their tongues, from what the article said. Then, they saw the little boy gutted... the girl with the top of her head cut off... beyond that, they couldn't know anything. Why would someone split up the article? Could the other half still be in here? So far, the library has been the only place she felt remotely okay, so she wouldn't mind spending time scanning the shelves. Still... would they be able to find Mochida and the others like that? Ugh, no matter what they did, it could be wrong!

Yoshiki paused, thinking it over in his head. It would definitely be enough for these kids to feel violent, but still... He didn't like it, and he wouldn't be giving any pity to them. Then, he recalled the second element in his illusion that filled him with fear. The heavy, blunt-object wielding person... could they be real too? He felt himself growing dizzy again, struggling to keep himself together. **"Then maybe... Could the teacher be here too?"** he wondered aloud. There really was no reason to think that other than sheer speculation. And it probably seemed even more random to the two girls, and he would probably keep it that way. They had enough things to worry about, and it's not like knowing such a strong ghost was around carry some heavy weapon could help them fight him back.

Ayumi tilted her head at the question. While not completely random, given her last comment, it seemed very speculative. Still, speculation was basically all they had to go on, until they articles that spelled out the events. **"Their wasn't anymore mention of him... the killings happened not too long ago. He could be in jail... to be here, he would've had to die on the premises," **she explained. From what she was gathering, that seemed right. A ghost would only arrive here if they died on the school grounds. She rested the paper on the table, getting what she could from it. Now what? They couldn't go digging through each of these books for the vague hope that a scrap of paper would come out.

**"Should we... stay and look around in here, or move on?"** Mitsuki piped up, shivering from the article. She was hovering closely to Yoshiki, for personal comfort, Ayumi could bet.

Yoshiki nodded, rubbing the back of his head.**"Yeah... he's probably not in here," **he said with a nervous laugh, not noticing the closeness of Mitsuki, even after she spoke. **"Well... There's really no wrong answer, I guess... We could move on and just come back later, or comb this place all over,"** he said with a shrug, **"What do you think? I could go either way this time."**

Ayumi tapped her chin lightly as she thought. **"I would like to take a look at every room we can,"** she responded. Although, in the wilderness, if you got separated, you were supposed to stay put for the rescue party. Staying put just didn't sound like a viable option. She had more faith in encountering the others through movement. Plus, her throat still felt dry and she was hoping to find some water. She looked at Mitsuki, not wanting to leave her out. **"What do you think?"**

**"We can keep moving... I think that's the best away to avoid the ghosts. The ghost I encountered earlier only appeared after we had been resting in the infirmary a while,"** Mitsuki explained with a sheepish smile. Ayumi nodded, figuring they were all ready to move on. She slipped out the door Yoshiki had pried open, the hallways lights were much brighter than the libraries. Still, light was safe... she hoped.

Yoshiki followed closely behind Ayumi, glancing around. There were tow ways to go, and now, someone could stay behind with Ayumi... They could split up. He'd be fine, and Ayumi wouldn't be alone... **"I'd think we'd cover more ground if I went left, and you two head right. We can meet back up in the library,"** he suggested, but unsure if the two would accept. Ayumi probably wouldn't feel too comfortable with a stranger, but splitting up would prove to be beneficial... no matter how much he didn't want to be alone himself. He could make it, though. He was sure of it... kind of it...

Ayumi's eyes widened at the suggestion, a frown forming on her face. Splitting up was smart in the way of getting through the searching a little quicker... but her mind went back to every horror movie she ever saw and every story she ever read. Still, this wasn't one of her stories... it was worse. She looked down, thinking. Yoshiki was capable of being on his own, right? She looked back up to him and nodded. **"Fine. But don't do anything stupid!"** she told him sharply, uncertainty visible in her eyes. She looked at Mitsuki, who didn't look happy with the idea, but nodded. None of them seemed particularly thrilled, but time was ticking away. Clearing out an area seemed like it would work out... so long as the ghosts kept to themselves.

**"Yeah, yeah,"** Yoshiki replied, rolling his eyes. He was pretty good at making _bad _decisions, but he was too accustomed to stupid ones. He turned away, giving a simple wave as he went down the hall. **"See ya soon," **he said in a flat tone, putting his other hand into his pocket as well. He came across several doors that wouldn't open, and others that were locked. Basically, no getting in those. He was the met with more stairs, carefully going up them to a third floor, not surprised by the school's expansiveness.

However, the third, and probably final, floor didn't have any classes, only a pair of bathrooms. He opened the door to the boy's bathroom, but found nothing of interest. The faucets wouldn't work, and he didn't particularly need to use the bathroom... besides the point that he wouldn't trust them. He exited that room and continued to the girls, inspecting everything. Miraculously, he actually found something that may help. It was a key. He didn't know what it was to, but it would help them carry on. He turned to leave the bathroom, opening the door, only to be met with a blue light. Startled, he fell to the floor, quickly looking away. The last time he had looked at one of the children, he had almost died. Though, the glance he had gotten almost froze him already. It was a girl, but her head was fully in tact, besides... besides... her eye... As much as it was terrifying, he shut his eyes tightly, covering his mouth with his arm as he began to gag at the sight of her empty socket.

_"Gihh ih back... Gihh ih back..."_ the small voice gurgled, sounding like it was coming closer. He instantly knew not looking wasn't enough, and he had to run. He quickly got up, making sure to focus his sight on the floor. _"Gihh ih back!"_


	5. Chapter 5

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

Some things in the original story line are drastically changed, otherwise it would mostly be a repeating of the game. If you see something different, or if an area is in the wrong place, you do not need to inform me.

* * *

The girl screamed, triggering Yoshiki's instinct to get the hell out of there. He charged forward, trusting that she was no longer blocking his way out, and ran down the stairs, but in his rush, his foot slipped halfway down. As he hit the end on his back, his breath was knocked out of him, and his body ached all over, especially his wrist. In his gasps, he glanced up the stairs while keeping on eye shut, thankful the girl hadn't chased him down. He closed both his eyes, still struggling to regain his breath, but relieved he hadn't been caught.

Yoshiki finally recovered, rolling over on his hands and knees. He scooted back and sat with his back against the wall, opening his hand to see the key he had retrieved. It was slightly rusted, but he had expected it to be in worse condition, considering the apparent age of the school. He also took this time to notice the searing pain in his other wrist, examining for any open wounds. Other than minor cuts and probably some splinters, he couldn't _see_any damage, which meant it was either sprained, twisted, or broken. It wasn't necessarily good, but he could have been worse off. Maybe even deathly.

With help from the wall, he stood, holding the key tightly in his hand as he went back down the hallway, attempting to open any locked doors he had come across beforehand, but the key refused to fit. With nothing to open, he slipped the key into his pocket. _Great... nothing really over here, except more bad luck_, he thought, returning to the library. The girls had yet to return, but he wouldn't start worrying yet. After all, the left hallways had little to explore, and he didn't spend too much time on the third floor either. So, they weren't late, but there was still a lingering panic, but that was probably there to stay, no matter what. In this time alone, his brain imagined the empty space where an eye used to be, and then to the scissors in the infirmary... He lightly placed his hand over his eye, his expression blank as he stared at the ground while leaning on a book shelf…

Once Yoshiki left, the girls began heading down their assigned hallway in awkward silence. Ayumi wasn't really sure what to say to her, given the circumstances they were in. She stepped up to the first door, sliding it open easily. Why were some doors so much more rusted than others? The room had half of its lights broken, but it was still easily accessible. **"So... Kishinuma is a good guy," **Mitsuki said, trying to keep her tone casual.

Ayumi looked over at her, confused by her topic choice. **"Huh?"**

**"Ah, I just mean... he really seems like a good type of guy to be stuck in here with," **Mitsuki tried to explain.

**"I guess," **Ayumi said, uncertain. She would rather have Mochida here with her... though he was easily frightened... she had faith in him to come through.

**"You two definitely aren't going out, eh?" **Mitsuki asked, walking around the room looking for anything noticeable.

**"Whaat? You didn't actually think?" **Azumi asked her, turning around to stare at Mitsuki in confusion.

**"Well... no. Couples normally don't call each other by their last names,"** Mitsuki responded with a small laugh. **"So, you don't like him?"**

**"He's a friend. Romantically, though? I'm not interested in the delinquent type," **Ayumi explained. She saw a twinkle in the corner of her eye, for just a second. She walked towards the direction, trying to find it again.

**"I think he seems like he'd be a good boyfriend. Maybe a little overprotective, but in a place like this, you can't complain," **Mitsuki said thoughtfully, going through the teacher's desk. All she was finding was dust.

**"Hm, Mochida would be better," **Ayumi grumbled with a blush. Her heart fluttered rapidly as she thought of Satoshi, yearning for his company.

**"Mochida? Whose that?"**

**"Another classmate..." **Ayumi explained in a hushed tone, walking over to a hole in the wall. She was certain she had seen something... her hands clenched uncertainly. Mitsuki was saying something else, but Ayumi drowned it out as she slowly stuck her hand into the hole. It was shaped in a way she could believe someone had punched the wall to create the gap in it. Her fingers gingerly felt around, feeling only broken wood, she was beginning to think she had been mistaken. Then, stretching her arm in a little more, she felt a smoother surface. She used her pointer fingers to roll the smooth object towards her hand, where she grasped it in a small fist. She pulled out, too quickly as her skin got caught in some of the broken wood. She let out a yelp, a cut on the top of her hand. Mitsuki scrambled over to her quickly.

**"You okay?" **Mitsuki asked in concern, seeing the blood.

Ayumi was panting, but she nodded. **"I'll be fine,"** she responded. Mitsuki looked at her questioningly at how it happened. **"I saw something shiny,"** she explained with a small blush. She turned her palm over, some of her blood dripped out of her cut onto the floor beneath her. Her fingers unrolled to reveal a gem. **"It's a power stone," **she explained with a smile. She felt herself relieved that she had put her hand in the hole. Still, her hand was freely bleeding and there wasn't anything to wrap it in...

**"Should we head to the next room?"** Mitsuki asked, and Ayumi responded with a nod. The two girls carried on in silence as they began to check the rooms once again.

moving onto the next one. The hallway only had a couple more doors to go, but the two of them were definitely moving slower than they could have been. **"You really have no interest in Kishinuma?" **Mitsuki asked, bringing up the topic again with persistence.

Ayumi blinked, walking around a patch of missing floor. **"I only have eyes for Mochida," **she explained firmly, with a red face.

**"Really? Why?" **Mitsuki asked curiously as she watched Ayumi manage to open another door. The two of them stepped into the room.

Silence followed the question as Ayumi stepped into the room, her heart freezing at the sight of skeletons on the floor. Her breathing started going downhill. She realized Mitsuki was staring at her intensely for an answer, which Ayumi wasn't sure she could explain. **"Because... I can trust him."**

**"Ah? Can't you trust Kishinuma?" **Mitsuki challenged lightly, though her tone was more hushed as she caught sight of the bodies as well. Both girls were trying to act as if they weren't there as they scattered to look at the locations away from them.

**"Mm... I..."** Ayumi began to answer with uncertainty. Did she trust Kishinuma? She didn't distrust him... **"I don't think there's anything in here," **Ayumi said in one quick breath as she headed for the exit. She couldn't be around those corpses... and her head was feeling muddled.

**"Oh, i'm sorry, I didn't upset you, did I?" **Mitsuki asked in worry as she left the room, following Ayumi.

**"No, no, I just..." **Ayumi gave a meaningful look back into the room and Mitsuki understood right away. She nodded, both understanding how it was to deal with a dead body... or in this case dead bodies. Though, as horrible as it was to think, the skeletons were easier to be around than the ones with flesh...

**"Well, that seems to wrap that up,"** Mitsuki said as she looked at the door that led to stairs downstairs. **"We should probably head back."**

**"Y-yeah..." **Ayumi responded, following behind Mitsuki, though her walk stalled.

**"What's wrong?" **Mitsuki asked in concern, turning around.

**"Do you like Kishinuma?"**Ayumi asked simply.

Mitsuki's face lit up red, and her eyes caught onto the floor. **"I... he's... he's really nice. It's hard... to not feel something like that in a place like this,"** she explained in embarrassment. **"But... I just broke up with my boyfriend earlier today, so I don't want to get back in the game so quickly. Plus..." **Her hands ushered to the location around them, causing Ayumi to giggle lightly.

**"You broke up with your boyfriend? I'm so sorry," **Ayumi responded, unsure of what to say.

**"I'm kind of over it already, honestly. That's awful, isn't it?" **Mitsuki said with a sheepish smile.

**"I don't really know, I've never had a boyfriend,"** Ayumi admitted. Mitsuki let out a noise of question, causing Ayumi to explain herself further. **"I've... never been able to take the first step. I've always been too scared," **she admitted. It was the reason she hadn't told Mochida... well, one of the reasons.

**"Ah, well, boyfriends aren't as great as everyone likes to say. They can be huge pains," **Mitsuki sighed, thinking back.

Ayumi smiled lightly, the normal conversation was somehow a bit of relief from the location. **"We really should head back, we don't want Kishinuma to worry." **Ayumi also wasn't sure how much deeper she wanted to go into her romantic life, or lack thereof.

Mitsuki nodded in agreement as the two made their way back to the library. **"Kishinuma! Did you find anything?" **she greeted and then asked as she came into the library. Ayumi followed silently behind her, clenching the power gem in her hand.

Yoshiki heard their footsteps nearing, quickly lowering his hand and looking up. He took his weight off of the shelf as he met up halfway with them. He dug in his pocket and held out the key. **"Just this. I haven't found a use for it yet, though,"** he answered, but then noticed blood dripping from Ayumi's hand. **"What happened? Are you ok?"** he asked almost as soon as he had seen it, eyeing the cut on her hand with worry. Meanwhile, he refused to move his own hand, keeping it still inconspicuously in his pocket.

Ayumi looked at the key, wondering what it went to. Probably a door, since locked up shelf keys were typically much smaller. Ayumi looked a little surprised at how quickly he noticed her hand. She looked at it, holding it up sheepishly for her own view. **"Oh... I saw something in a hole in the wall,"** she explained, holding up the power gem with her other hand. **"When I was pulling my hand out, the wood cut me."** She felt a little silly explaining the story, but she was personally happy with the trade-off. The power gem would be helpful, she knew it... or at least... protect them? Still, she had been just letting her hand bleed out in the open, not having anything to wrap it in. She wondered if infections were something she'd have to worry about here.

Yoshiki gave Ayumi a weird look at her explanation of events, but the stone she had found... seemed important... he guessed... He didn't really know... After all, she was the gem expert. **"Well... as long as you're ok,"** he said, finally taking his gaze away from it. He'd like to bandage it up, but he didn't have anything that would work... but maybe the infirmary did. **"But we should head back to the infirmary, to see if it carries any bandages. After all, it'd be sad to survive all this Hell, and die from an infection," **he added, already on his way. He had stuffed the key back into his pocket, but kept his hand out. Walking around with both hands occupied felt a bit awkward...

He entered the infirmary, keeping the door open. He went the cabinet, finding bandages, and a convenient bottle of Peroxide. He took the wrappings and bottle from the shelf, but then his expression turned confused. **"Uh... Yamamoto... Do you know how to bandage decently?"** he asked, a little embarrassed. Sure, he could wrap it around her hand with no actual pattern or procedure, but it'd probably last longer if it was done by someone with at least a little experience.

Ayumi had been ready to protest Yoshiki's idea, not wanting to go out of their way for her. She didn't get a chance as he walked quickly ahead. They were in the infirmary before she knew it, so she decided not to raise a fuss. Plus, her hand was really stinging. Mitsuki smiled at Yoshiki, nodding as she took the bandages and Peroxide. She ushered Ayumi to sit on the bed, her sitting next to her. **"Geeze, what is that gem you picked up anyways?" **Mitsuki asked, as she began to clean up Ayumi's cut.

**"It's a power stone,"** Ayumi responded, looking down at it. **"My sister collects them. They're able to keep away bad spirits and protect anyone from danger," **she explained with a gleam in her eye. She could just shut her eyes and picture herself in her sisters room where they were collected in a large glass bottle.

**"Well, I guess that does sound useful,"** Mitsuki responded, though she seemed unsure on how a gem could do that. She began to wrap Ayumi's hand, as if it was a movement she had done many times before. **"Done," **she announced.

**"Wow, this feels like when the nurse wraps cuts," **Ayumi observed, now fully comfortable with Mitsuki to carry on such conversations.

**"I've had to do my fair share of wrapping because of my younger siblings," **Mitsuki explained with a smile.

Yoshiki handed the supplies to Mitsuki, watching from a little bit away as she dressed Ayumi's wound. **"That's good to know... I don't really... have much medical experience,"** he admitted. He probably had a lot of injury experience, but not with patching himself up. Most things came from fights, even when he was littler, and his sister would take care of any injuries he had. Though, he hadn't picked a fight in a few years, after Ayumi's strangely emotional speech. It had been such a weird feeling... It was the first time she had ever talked to him, and she had just started crying. Though, he guessed it was because he didn't know what made girls cry in general... Man, he was getting way off track... **"Anyways, now that we've covered the second and third floor, I guess we can back track to the hallway Shinozaki and I had been... That's pretty much the last place to look."**

Ayumi had an inkling once they crossed the skeleton and little soul that were blocking their way, the school would open up more. It had to, right? If not, where were Mochida and the others? In addition, where were Mitsuki's classmates? She was almost sure the school was bigger, but it was the last place to look that they were aware of. If they hit a head end, though... she blocked her mind off. She'd worry about that if it happened, for now she was just focusing on finding her friends. Ayumi stood up, Mitsuki following her action. Ayumi walked over to the corner and quickly set up a small candle, another signal flare. She realized she probably should have put one in the library as well, but she wasn't going to go back to do that. The infirmary seemed like it would attract anyone, so maybe one of the others will find it. **"Alright, let's go," **Ayumi said after checking the candle would stay standing in the dried wax. She left the room, Mitsuki following.

**"Ah, back in the darkness, then," **Mitsuki realized miserably as they headed towards the stairway.

**"Yeah,"** Ayumi said, glancing around uncomfortably. She just realized to examine the hallway they abandoned earlier, they would have to go past the decaying corpse and skeleton. Her heartbeat quickened just thinking about it. Her fingers rubbed the power stone methodically, trying to calm herself down.

Yoshiki glanced to Ayumi as they walked, but quickly looked back in front of him as they approached the stairs. The unlit bottom floor seemed even darker now that he was used to lights... This would be wonderful... he _loved_ being guided by candle light. Also, there was the problem of the dead girl, and skeletal remains in their way... But it might also prove to be a useful back track. Maybe the ghost was still there, and they all could hear what it had to say... However, his confidence he had slowly been gaining was starting to deplete as they entered the darkness again, only a faint light remained behind them. It was candle time, he guessed, stopping.

Ayumi stopped as well, moving to pull out some candles. She debated quickly if they should each have one, but decided the two had worked well enough earlier. If they needed another candle, that wouldn't be an issue. She opened the matches, glad she always carried the large packs. Though, she wondered how the others were getting around without candles... it would be so easy to fall in a while. She swiped the match, which hissed as it ignited. She easily lit two candles, handing the other one to Mitsuki who nodded gratefully. With that, they moved into the dark hallways, unease settling back with a vengeance of Ayumi's shoulders. She had already forgotten how dark it really was... She stumbled a little forward when her foot hooked onto a floorboard sticking up. She caught her balance, shaking slightly.

**"It's hard to adjust back into the darkness,"** Mitsuki noted, seeing Ayumi's small stumble. Ayumi agreed with a small hum, her eyes having a rough time making out any forms in the darkness. The small candle didn't even feel like it was helping as much as it was. She hoped her eyes would shift quickly... she didn't want to trip into a hole.

Yoshiki found himself hovering in between the girls once more, and, as last time, he subconsciously edged more towards Mitsuki. He was about to rush forward, however, when Ayumi stumbled, but his reaction time was enough to let Ayumi recover herself, and stop him from embarrassing himself. But if she had fallen, would he have been fast enough? He'd like to think so... As they progressed, the horrid smell slowly began to come back, intensifying in odor and dread. Mitsuki hadn't seen it, had she? He glanced over at her, wondering if she'd be ok, but with that thought, he thought the same for Ayumi. That body was the worst they had come across, and not something easily gotten used to...

The second the awful smell hit Ayumi, she covered her mouth and nose as she had previously done. She felt her body reflexes beginning to work as she began to gag painfully. She was almost sure she was going to puke, the nausea was completely overwhelming. She heard Mitsuki react with disgust at the smell. In only a few short steps, Ayumi's candle illuminated the frozen panic of the corpse. Ayumi choked, taking a step back as her body began to react. Maybe, maybe she could learn to deal with the skeletons. But with such a fresh body, she couldn't muster the courage. She had to have died not too long ago!

**"W-what was that!?"** Mitsuki screamed, the corpse only being visible for a moment due to Ayumi's movement away from it. Ayumi shook her head, unable to muster her voice as she fought off the urge to puke.

Yoshiki stopped along with the other two, not speaking a word as he held in retches. When he felt it was safe for him to speak while remaining solid, he answered Mitsuki as best as he could. **"Another... student, I guess..,"** he muttered, obviously not fond of sugar coating things, especially when they were probably going to be faced with sights this extreme often. He couldn't baby either of the girls or himself, as tempting as that was. **"I could still help, if you need it,"** he added, mostly talking to Ayumi, but the offer was up for Mitsuki as well.

**"Don't be so blunt!"** Ayumi yelled at Yoshiki. Another student? Did he have to say it so casually like that? She didn't even respond to the question if she wanted help, too irritated to take it. She stepped forward, trying to steal herself from the impending sight. Her eyes were focused ahead of her, not wanting to fully look at the corpse. She was about to move over the body when a shrill shriek caused her heart to stop, backing away from the corpse again to look behind her at a collapsed Mitsuki.**"Yamamoto, what's wrong?"**Ayumi asked breathlessly with wide eyes.

**"EMI!"** Mitsuki screamed, tears flowing heavily. Ayumi's eyes widened as she looked back to the corpse, holding out a light to make out an uniform on the corpse identical to Mitsuki's. Her heart sank when she realized the dead girl was Mitsuki's classmate…


	6. Chapter 6

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

Some things in the original story line are drastically changed, otherwise it would mostly be a repeating of the game. If you see something different, or if an area is in the wrong place, you do not need to inform me.

* * *

Yoshiki kept his gaze down, not responding to Ayumi's shout. There was no arguing with her, but he still felt he wasn't in the wrong. Besides, he had to play the tough guy, no matter what he faced... or at least, try to fit the act. Though, he was taken by surprise as Mitsuki collapsed to the ground, screaming. His heart sank, even before she called the name. _Dammit_, he thought, knelling down next to her. Though he wanted to try and comfort her, he had no way to do so. Not only was he proven not to be great at comforting, he also didn't know Mitsuki near as well as Ayumi... and if she had seen her friends like this, she probably couldn't take it. He'd never be able to calm her breathing down if that happened, so he was at even more of a loss at Mitsuki...

Ayumi walked away from the corpse, crouching by the sobbing Mitsuki. She was well aware there were no words to say, she put a half on her shoulder gently.**"Yamamoto,"** she said in a quiet voice, **"let's get away from here,"** she told the girl. Mitsuki let out a small choking noise, but nodded. Ayumi helped Mitsuki up, awkwardly since she was not exactly the right size to help the taller girl. She had Mitsuki's hand in hers, leading her quickly away from the body and back into the stairs, the light shining overhead. Mitsuki collapsed right down to the floor again, crying. Ayumi grimaced, trying to keep herself together. Ayumi had actually been planning to tug Mitsuki to the infirmary, but that wouldn't be happening.

Yoshiki watched the two leave, looking back down to the floor as he rubbed the back of his neck. He then stood, looking down the dark hall, his eyes slowly adjusting to the lack of light. Should he go alone? He didn't want to per say, but he didn't want Mitsuki to have to step over her _dead friend_. He also didn't want to leave her by herself... Plus, girls seemed better at comforting one another. But, should he had back and announce his situation, or head on? He decided upon the former, not wanting to worry either of them... Not that they would, but just in case. He carefully stepped back through the hall, his sight clear enough that he could evade the large holes, but was open to tripping over the smaller things.

He turned the corner and saw the girls' silhouettes in the dim light, seeing them sit on the stairs. **"... Hey! I'll go check the hall out! I'll be back in a little while,"** he announced, not opening it up for discussion. **"Don't separate!"** he warned after he had turned, his voice echoing in the hall.

Ayumi felt a surge of rage as Yoshiki rushed in and rushed out. She wanted to yell that they should stay together, that separating again was _stupid._ He was gone before she could even muster her voice, though. _Don't separate? _The hypocrisy left a bitter taste in her mouth. She didn't want Yoshiki wandering around the dark, corpse-covered hallways by himself. She didn't want to find his body as Mitsuki had found her friends. Mitsuki's sobs were deep, painful, coming from her very center. Ayumi pushed aside her frustration with Yoshiki, wrapping her arm around Mitsuki to let her know she wasn't alone.

Mitsuki's sobs did not die down, Ayumi was patting her lightly on her back. She wished she had something to tell her... that her friend was in a better place? But, did death operate like it did in their world, here? If anything, Emi could be in a worse place. She didn't like the idea of lying to comfort her, either. Suddenly, Ayumi felt a sharp pain of a headache forming on the side of her head. She blinked, the light above suddenly felt much more pronounced. Mitsuki's sobs were harder to listen to as well. Ayumi pulled away from Mitsuki, heart pounding. The boy was fazing through the wall, blue aura surrounding the ghastly looking ghost. Ayumi choked, grabbed Mitsuki's hand and yanking her up the stairs. **"Don't look it in the eyes!"** Ayumi yelled, her own eyes hooded by her bangs. Mitsuki let out a cry, but she allowed herself to stand and begin running. Ayumi felt a level of relief that she wasn't ready to lay down and die.

Ayumi panted heavily as she threw the door open, barreling down the hallway. She was never much of a fast runner, since she easily lost her breath. Gym class was never exactly fun for her, given the condition. Still, when it came to life or death, she could feel instinct and adrenaline kick in. She heard the boy gurgling, what felt like right behind her. She gritted her teeth, running and running until she was disoriented on her exact location, she threw open a door and slammed it shut. She couldn't breath, her throat felt constricted. Mitsuki collapsed into a corner, bawling. **"I can't take this place! What kind of fucked up school is this!?"** Ayumi coughed, unable to reply to Mitsuki's yells. She was trembling, waiting for the ghost to come through the wall... but minutes passed and there was nothing. She couldn't calm down, though. Her body was in overdrive from panic.

Mitsuki was sobbing, yelling in anger about the school. Ayumi was having a hard time concentrating on the words as she struggled to breath. Where was the ghost? Would she be able to find Yoshiki again? Fear and uncertainty added fuel to her panic, which escalated her hyperventilation.

Mitsuki watched Ayumi in panic, her crying dying down as the other girl gasped for air. **"Shinozaki, are you okay?"** she asked tentatively, tears still coming down her face. Ayumi nodded, breaking into a coughing fit. Mitsuki didn't find the nod very comforting. She sniffled, wiping the tears off her face with her sleeve. **"Maybe we should go back down to the stairs... Kishinuma may be there soon, and he'll get worried."** Ayumi let out a sound of protest, which Mitsuki understood... the ghost could be pacing up and down the halls. Mitsuki sighed, placing a hand on Ayumi's back and rubbing it. The desire to calm the other girl down was bringing down her own hysteria, but the feeling of hopelessness did not leave her. One of her best friends in the world was dead... She stopped, looking at the door. Did she hear a voice? It was pretty muddled... she wasn't certain. She was about to stand up when she felt Ayumi's hands grasp her sleeve, not wanting Mitsuki to leave her side.

* * *

Getting a candle would have been a good idea, but Yoshiki could see decently enough... Though, he wondered if that was one of those stupid things Ayumi mentioned... After he passed the body, almost throwing up this time, he was practically home free, other than the smell. but even it started to fade as he walked down the hallways, his pace slow and steps careful. Then, his spirits rose as he saw the smaller blue light, thankful it hadn't left. **"Long time no see,"** he said in uneven breaths, still nauseated.

The blue flame was silent as Yoshiki reappeared. _"Why have you come back?"_ it questioned him.

Yoshiki still had to get his act together as his stomach did back flips, but as the smell was nearly gone, he recovered quickly. **"I guess to get more information on what you had started to say last time,"** he answered, leaning towards the light, **"I didn't want Shinozaki hearing anymore bad news in her state, so I left suddenly, but I'd like to hear what you have to say about our friends now." **Depending on what it was, he would decide whether or not to tell Ayumi. He wasn't sure she could take more disappointment or hopelessness... Then, as he started thinking about her specifically, he imagined how fumed she was at him. It kind of made him scared to return, but he was more fearful of the ghosts than her anger.

_"Ah, yes, that,"_ the ghost said in a tone of remembrance. _"The search for your friends may very well be futile. You see... this school exists in multiple dimensions."_ The ghost paused for a moment, as if realizing that may not be enough of an explanation. _"Say, you are standing in the library. Well, your friends may be in the exact same location, but in a different dimension. You wouldn't know it, so your paths could cross time and time again... but you'll never actually see one another."_

Yoshiki grimaced, cradling his head with slight frustration. **"So you're saying... not only is getting out near impossible, but so is finding our friends?"** he asked, then gave a heavy sigh, rubbing his head. Both of their goals were said to be very difficult, if possible at all... If he told Ayumi, would she lose that determination she's held onto for her friends? Probably, but... keeping information from her and Mitsuki wasn't going to help... He was already keeping way too much from them... If she found out he was hiding anything, she'd surely be very angry at him... Ugh, he hated this... **"That's great...,"** he said, glad he had kept Ayumi away from such information when she had been so distraught, **"Thanks for telling me, at least... Anything else?"**

_"That is what I am saying,"_ the sad little voice replied. A long silence followed. _"One thing. That girl you're with... I'd be careful with her. She could potentially become... dangerous, due to the many angry souls stuck here."_

Yoshiki let his hand drop to his side, staring at the blue light with uncertainty.**"What... do you mean?"** he asked, even though he had an idea of what it was talking about. The time Ayumi had run down the hall, then stood in the corner sputtering nonsense. Were these maliciousness souls responsible for that? He paused, but then his look grew determined, standing upright. **"It... doesn't matter... I'll protect her, even if its from herself. That was my resolution, and... I don't plan on giving her up to this school,"** he told the orb.

_"That's very noble of you,"_ the blue orb said with no trace of actual admiration. It was a simple fact being spoken. _"It's too bad nobility doesn't mean much in here,"_ the flame flickered lightly, its tone growing sadder. It was convinced that they would all die. A way out was never found... the chance was slim to none.

**"But it gives me drive... a reason,"** Yoshiki responded, his spirit not broken by the soul's pessimistic tone,**"A reason that won't easily be cracked or abandoned. And with it, we'll carry on to find our friends, **_**and **_**an exit."** He turned, growing anxious with the girls by themselves. He didn't get to explore further, but at least he had gotten more information on what this school was all about. **"Thanks again,"** he said quietly, walking back carefully. The dull, blue light had caused his vision to become more dark, but it wasn't too much of a problem. He was back within minutes, but the girls weren't on the stairs, where they had been before. **"Shinozaki? Yamamoto?"** he called, quietly the first time, gaining a bad feeling. He glanced down the opposite hall, then up the stairs, feeling his luck was better upstairs, where the light was. He went up them, and once at the top, he took a deep breath. **"Shinozaki?! Yamamoto!?"** he yelled, growing more and more panicked as the minutes passed that his search came up fruitless.

Yoshiki continued searching and calling their name with all he had in him, checking inside the infirmary, but they weren't there. Library, same deal. He looked between the two halls, his worry becoming more and more great. Which way would they have gone? He decided the right one, the one foreign to him, but familiar to them. He continued calling, pulling at every classroom door frantically.

Mitsuki tried listening past Ayumi's breathing to hear what was happening outside. She was certain she heard someone, and she was confident that it was Kishinuma.**"Shinozaki, I think Kishinuma is looking for us. I'm going to go right outside the door and yell out to him. You'll be able to see me the entire time, I won't leave," **Mitsuki told the panicking girl gently in a motherly tone.

**"O...kay,"** Ayumi breathed out. Mitsuki nodded, sliding the door open. She wasn't sure which hallway they were in, Ayumi seemed to have been running blindly. She leaned her head out. She didn't see him, but she was almost certain she heard _someone_ running around. **"Kishinuma!"** Mitsuki yelled, hoping he would be able to pinpoint the location of her voice. She waited about thirty seconds before calling out the name again, so he would hopefully be able to trace it.

Yoshiki was unsuccessful with his search, turning around and about to double check the doors, when he heard a return call. It wasn't Ayumi... so that must have meant it was Mitsuki... Had they been split up? His heart raced as he tried to trace the voice, and he eventually saw Mitsuki's head peeking out of a door in the other hallway. As he got closer, he slowed down, exhausted by running and emotional turmoil. **"Thank... God,"** he said in gasps, clutching his chest as it tightened, **"You're okay... and... Shinozaki?"**

Mitsuki's eyes filled with relief at the sight of Yoshiki, since a part of her was scared she was yelling out to something that she wouldn't want near her. **"She's okay... her breathing's really off, though,"** Mitsuki explained, looking uncertain. Inside the room, Ayumi was on the floor curled over as she attempted to calm herself and regain control of her breathing. She had been listening to Mitsuki yell out into the hall. When she heard Yoshiki's voice, she became more alert, struggling to stand up. She watched as Mitsuki stepped inside the room, to allow Yoshiki room to come in.

Yoshiki slipped in, approaching Ayumi. She did seem out of sorts, but she had been worse off before. **"Are you okay?"** he asked, truly concerned, but didn't expect an answer. He expected a flurry of yelling, but if she had enough breath to yell at him, then he'd guess she's ok. After this was all over with, and she calmed down enough, he would tell the two of his findings. There could only be so many secrets he could hold onto.

Ayumi took a couple steps towards Yoshiki, trying to figure out how angry at him she really was. His presence helped with her breathing, though she felt far from calm. She then moved her arm sharply and hit his arm with a loud _thwap!_ **"Don't you **_**dare **_**go running off like that again!"** she yelled at him, though her shouts intimidation was taken down some levels as her eyes filled with tears. **"We-we can't just separate like that! At least give us a chance to talk! F-figure out a meeting spot if we get separated!"** she snapped, frustration with his stupid move, this awful place, and the constant presence of ghosts was causing her emotions to mix and boil. **"WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID?"** she finally screamed at him, tears beginning to spill out. Mitsuki watched silently from the corner, finding it best to not interrupt them.

Yoshiki flinched at the impact, rubbing the spot with his free hand. Though she was yelling at him, he couldn't help but hold a faint smile. She was ok... that, and she had a right to yell. **"Sorry... I really needed to go by myself, and was in a little of a rush... I wasn't thinking clearly,"** he admitted, still holding his arm as it stung. She could hit pretty hard if she was angry enough. He laughed shallowly at her question, moving his hand to the back of his head. **"Well... I guess it's because I'm just not smart,"** he answered simply. He didn't really have the straight As or Bs a good student had, but he had been doing better since the pep talk. He had even stopped smoking, which was a pretty big deal to him. **"Look, I really **_**am **_**sorry, but there's no helping what's already happened. And I really need to tell you two the thing I learned from the ghost we saw earlier,"** he said quickly, hoping to kill the argument soon so he could get out his information. **"It told me that finding our friends will be just as hard as finding an exit... It said that this place is divided into different dimensions, so we could cross paths with someone in a separate space, and not see them. It's... hard to comprehend a little, but that's all it had left to say. Well, that, and information about more vengeful spirits, which is **_**fantastic**_**,"** he mentioned with a hint of sarcasm.

Ayumi glared at him, not satisfied with his answer at all. Ayumi's face twisted in annoyance as he went off topic, though it slowly shifted into a look of dismay. That means that meeting up with the others... may never happen? They certainly had no control over the dimension they were in... but that meant she may never see her friends again. What if Yoshiki and her were the only of their classmates in this dimension? She felt tired, all of a sudden. Mitsuki noticed Ayumi's heartbroken expression and walked closer to the two.

**"Did you ask the ghost about the children?"** Mitsuki asked, well aware that Ayumi wasn't going to say anything. Plus, she was wondering more and more questions about the ghosts that kept attacking them.

**"Not specifically, but I asked it to tell me all it knew,"** Yoshiki answered after turning towards Mitsuki. He was glad she was doing better, but he had no idea how they would manage to get past that... obstacle... and now was no time to bring it up, neither in conversation nor in his head. **"It did say something about dangerous ghosts, but I don't feel like it was talking about the children per say,"** he added, looking to the side in thought. _Then what did he mean? Were there even more murders in Heavenly Host that we don't know about? Or... were they people who had died here?..._ As he thought more about it, the more plausible it became. After all, they had already seen the ghost of a victim of this space, the one he had been talking to. It was possible there were more like it, only not so helpful because of things that happened to them before, and probably during, their death.

First he tells her that finding the others might be as impossible as getting out, then he tells her that there are even more dangerous ghosts wandering around. Ayumi had to sigh at Yoshiki's lack of tact when it came to every subject, ever. This entire situation was becoming more and more hopeless. She sniffled lightly, blinking away tears. She really just wanted to see Mochida and the others again.

**"You mean, like, people who've died here becoming angry ghosts?"** Mitsuki questioned with a concerned look. That wasn't something she wanted to put too much thought into. **"Well, hopefully there are some more of the type of ghost you talked to. It would certainly help to gather as much information as we can, since articles can only tell so much,"** Mitsuki said, trying to keep up a strong spirit. Her heart ached as she thought of Emi... but her other friends were still out there. This wasn't yet the time to grieve...

Yoshiki glanced to Ayumi when she sighed, his look turning somewhat regretful. He didn't want to keep secrets, and Ayumi probably wanted to know everything he knew, but he wasn't so great as his timing and words... He was well aware of this fact, but had no way to change how his mind worked. He shrugged at Mitsuki. **"It wasn't specific... but I have a bad feeling that we'll find out eventually..,"** he said, looking uncertain. But at her second comment, he nodded. **"Right... I don't think each ghost has the same story to tell us, so we can probably find a whole lot more out about this school if we can run into anymore of them,"** he agreed.

When Yoshiki finished speaking, Ayumi had to wonder _what now?_ They very well couldn't have Mitsuki step over her dead friend... but they couldn't leave Mitsuki alone. Actually, none of them should be alone at any point... ugh, things was kilter out better if there was a fourth person to be found. Now, they were stuck at a stalemate... unless Yoshiki's key ends up unlocking one of the doors... but the classrooms are pretty devoid of helpful objects. **"Kishinuma, can I talk to you alone for a second?" **Ayumi asked. She barely waited for a reaction as she grabbed his hand and yanked him towards the door. Mitsuki didn't seem particularly bothered by this, though she was far from happy, having an idea on what it might be about.

Yoshiki looked to Ayumi curiously, wondering what she had to speak to him about, but not for long. The only thing he knew of that they'd have to discuss away from Mitsuki was... well, the body... He gave a shallow nod, but he was unprepared for Ayumi to jerk his hand, pulling at his injured risk. He tried to hold in his voice as his wrist seared with pain, but he couldn't forever, and let a grunt slip. **"Urk!"** His initial reaction would be to grab his wrist, but he couldn't give anymore hints to an injury than he already had... If she didn't already suspect it, which was unlikely.

Ayumi tugged Yoshiki away, not giving much thought to grabbing his hand. Then she heard a grunt of pain, that was obviously Yoshiki's. It was rare to hear any sort of admittance of pain from him, so it alerted her right away. She turned around, looking Yoshiki up and down, as if she could tell what part of him actually hurt. Her hand loosely let go of his hand. **"What's wrong?"** she asked firmly, eyes holding determination that screamed that she wouldn't let that grunt of pain go unnoticed.

Yoshiki took his arm back as soon as she had released it, not being able to help but wrap his other hand tightly around his wrist, a sad attempt to numb the pain.**"Errm...,"** he muttered, avoiding direct eye contact, which was incriminating in itself. Only after a moment of being silent, he knew he was busted completely... **"I, uh... lost my footing on the stairs to the third floor... I-it's not a big deal though," **he said quickly, hoping to play it off as a strain or something equally as minor, but still painful. Even if she did buy it, though, he was still going to get an earful, he assumed.

Ayumi looked guilty when she realized it was the hand she pulled that was hurting him. That was mixed in with frustration quickly, as she realized he had been hiding it from Mitsuki and her. **"Kishinuma, why would you keep that to yourself?"** she snapped at him, genuinely confused for his reasoning. **"And not a big deal? It's obviously hurting you!"** she yelled at him. She honestly didn't understand Yoshiki half the time.

Yoshiki kept his line of sight veering off to the side, as he removed his hand and placed it behind his neck. **"Uh, well...,"** he muttered, finding it difficult to come with a good answer, **"I... guess I didn't think it was important enough to delay us more... and I still feel fine... So don't worry, alright? It's okay, as long as it isn't pulled at."** Though, it also meant he probably couldn't use it for wrenching open doors... But really, how many times would he have to do that?... Hopefully no more...

Ayumi looked wholly unamused by Yoshiki's attempts to brush the injury off as no big deal. **"Stupid boy,"** she said flatly. She would not take his injury lying down, just because he had to much pride or whatever to get it looked at. She turned her head, calling out in a louder volume, **"Yamamoto, can you come here?"** Mitsuki appeared at the door with a look of dread and confusion, as if they were about to give her news about another dead friend. **"Kishinuma hurt his wrist, can you take a look at it and see if it's okay?" **Ayumi asked, her tone softer when directed at the girl.

**"Oh, sure, no problem,"** Mitsuki said with concern in her voice. She looked expectantly at Yoshiki before shooting off a couple questions. **"Is your pain constant and radiating throughout your wrist? Also, is it swollen?"**

Yoshiki sighed as Ayumi called over Mitsuki, basically insisting that they make sure it was nothing. At her questions, he pushed down his sleeve. Uhh... it was pretty swollen... **"Erm... It has been, but it dulls if I don't think about it,"** he answered, his look uncertain. He didn't feel it quite necessary to answer about his wrist's physical appearance, as it was pretty obvious. With that the way it was, he doubted it was only a strain, but maybe he could still get away with a sprain... Uh, actually, was there even a ligament in your wrist? He wasn't too sure, actually, but he assumed there was.

Mitsuki tilted her head, looking thoughtful at his description. **"If it isn't constantly hurting you, it probably isn't broken,"** she said. **"Ah, I don't really know wrist injuries very well... it could be sprained or a torn tendon or even a fracture. Since we don't have access to an x-ray or anything, we probably can't find out specifically... but we should probably make you a splint to be careful," **she concluded. She looked over at Ayumi.

**"Alright, let's go to the infirmary, then,"** Ayumi announced, turning and walking down the hall. She wouldn't let Yoshiki make any arguments about it. Mitsuki blinked, giving a small nod as she followed Ayumi.

Yoshiki just gave a slight nod, feeling it was not only useless to protest going back to the Infirmary, it was also just a bad idea in general. Ayumi was already super pissed at him within the time span of about fifteen minutes or so, and he'd prefer to stay on her good side for a little while. Then again, with the type of person he was and how he handled being under pressure, that wouldn't last too long. Once he went into the room, he stood to the side, keeping his sleeve pushed back so Mitsuki could work her medical magic.

Mitsuki grabbed more wrappings from the opened closet, noticing their wasn't many left. She was surprised there were any at all... but, in a place like this, injuries were probably too severe. People would die before they even made it to the infirmary. Her mouth twitched, thinking back to Emi's body. No, no, she had to center herself. Her other friends were still alive, to her knowledge. She grabbed a wooden split as well, and stood in front of Yoshiki. She put the wooden split against his wrist and began to wrap the bandages firmly around it.

Ayumi wandered around the infirmary, eyes wandering around the equipment available. _Where should we go afterwards?_ she questioned herself. She didn't want Mitsuki to have to deal with stepping over her friend's corpse... but the options for this area were already exhausted. She was beginning to think Mitsuki didn't have an option... which was horrible. **"All done,"** Mitsuki said. Ayumi turned around to look at the two.

Yoshiki flinched a couple of times as the wrappings and wood splint got tighter, forcing his wrist to straighten, but after that was over, it felt a lot better. He looked at it for a small moment before pushing his sleeve back down, smiling at Mitsuki.**"Thanks. Feels a lot better,"** he told her, then noticed Ayumi's look. His small grin was quickly erased with a slightly darker look, knowing what she was thinking. They hadn't gotten a chance to sort it out themselves... but it probably shouldn't be. He guessed Mitsuki should decide what they do next, since it was her friend... He swapped from looking to Ayumi to looking at Mitsuki, wondering if she knew what the silence meant.

Mitsuki smiled, nodding with a blush on her face at his thanks. It felt good to help the two out, and she couldn't completely ignore her attraction to Yoshiki. The moments of admiring him were one of very, very few moments that she didn't find herself just thinking about what a horrible place they were in. Though, the silence stretched resulting in her smile flickering away. She knew what the two were thinking, and she braced herself. **"I...I think we should go back down that one hallway," **she announced. She didn't want to put the burden on Ayumi or Yoshiki to 'force' her into the situation.

**"Ah! A-are you sure Yamamoto?"**Ayumi responded with surprise.

**"It's that or wait around in these couple hallways we already explored... I just... I don't want to see her,"** Mitsuki explained, eyes tearing up already. She blinked the water away, though. Trying to adopt a confident facade. Ayumi nodded understandably. Yoshiki would just have to lead her around the corpse as he had done with her. Ayumi had to wonder if Mitsuki could keep up her strength when met with the actual corpse and not the idea of it... they would have to see.


	7. Chapter 7

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

Some things in the original story line are drastically changed, otherwise it would mostly be a repeating of the game. If you see something different, or if an area is in the wrong place, you do not need to inform me.

* * *

Yoshiki could honestly say he was pretty shocked at her decision, but admired her for it. He gave an unsure smile at her last comment. He could easily help with that. **"I can lead you until we get past... I mean, as long as you trust me enough,"** he told her, happy he could be of some actual help, as far as comforting went. He often failed at that normally, finding it hard to solve people's problems... Most of the time, he just made it worse.

Mitsuki nodded, a small forced smile on her face. **"Of course I trust you,"**she told, her voice convicted. She was still uncertain, her body language conveyed her discomfort. She was as ready as she could be for... stepping over... she had to shut her mind off from that. She just had to focus on getting by that small patch of hallway... they would get to the other side and everything would be... better? It wouldn't be okay... Emi was dead and nothing would change that. But, maybe one of her friends was on the other side?

Ayumi could tell Mitsuki was struggling, but it was internal and likely something she was sorting out on her own. She was bracing herself for a difficult thing. Ayumi left the infirmary, Mitsuki behind her. Both the girls seemed hesitant to go down the staircase, considering that was where they ran into the ghost... Ayumi glanced down nervously, not feeling any type of presence. They were down the stairs and in the darkness once again, Ayumi lighting a single candle this time, because she figured Mitsuki and Yoshiki wouldn't be able to hold one and get over the body together.

Yoshiki followed behind the two, wondering why they were so hesitant. Well, Mitsuki's reason was obvious enough, and he guessed Ayumi didn't want to see a body at all... Well, he wouldn't bother them about it. In fact, he was probably the weird one, but it's only because he had to pretend not to be disturbed. As the smell intensified, Yoshiki sped up to come to Mitsuki's side, catching hold of her hand, so she could close her eyes at any time she felt like it. And within a few moments the body came into faint view in the candle light. He made sure to keep Mitsuki out of the blood, just as he had done with Ayumi. It'd be awful if she had ran into the blood... but, she hadn't, so there was no thinking about such grim things. **"Just tell me when you're ok,"** he told her, cautious about when she'd want him to let go of her hand and start to walk herself. Even though they were past it, he could guess keeping your eyes closed off would be a lot more comforting than this darkness.

Ayumi felt herself beginning to panic as the smell intensified, her stomach turning. She told herself to calm down, be brave. If Mitsuki could make it, she sure as hell could suck it up and do this quietly. Ayumi maneuvered around the body carefully, avoiding the blood as she would avoid fire. She made it to the other side, but was careful to not speed away since she had to provide light for Yoshiki to get Mitsuki around. They were by the body in less than a minute or so, the skeleton that was coming up seemed a lot less intimating. She wondered if the little ghost would still be there...

Mitsuki's eyes were shut tight, and she held her breath as they passed over one of her best friend's in the world. She had known Emi since 1st grade... now she was gone. It was heartbreaking, but then she put the image of her other friends in her head. Tohko, Kurosaki, Ohkawa, and the others... she had to think of them, and that they were alive. She heard Yoshiki speak, but it took her a moment to realize what he was saying. She nodded, waiting a few moments before muttering a **"I'm okay."** She opened her eyes and put her arms back to her side. She let out a huge sigh, trying to let out her anxiety.**"Thanks, Kishinuma,"** she said gratefully.

Yoshiki smiled at her, releasing her hand as she gave him the ok. **"It's no problem," **he said softly, looking ahead at Ayumi and her faint candle light. He didn't like her to be up front, but he couldn't ditch Mitsuki, especially after he promised to help her. Regardless of them being past the body, he'd still help her if she asked for it. Next they came upon the skeleton, but the blue spirit had disappeared. And now that he had been through all this Hell, going past a skeleton wasn't difficult for him, though it still made him feel guilty for disregarding the life it led prior. But... to stay sane, someone had to be detached. With the bones past, they were exploring new ground... He didn't really count his frantic running through here exploring, so it was a new surrounding to him as well.

Ayumi wondered where the little blue flame had gone, but she assumed that the spirits mostly moved about this place. What an awful fate... to be stuck in this hell for eternity? The thought was unnerving, and sent grief shooting down her spine for all those who were innocent and killed. The skeleton was easy to pass, which was awful, but true. The smell and collection of bones was easier to disregard... still not easy in general, but easier than flesh and bones. Ayumi approached the first new door, sliding it open easily. She blinked in surprise, since most the doors at least protested a little bit at use. She stepped forward to go into the room when she suddenly was thrown back with enough force to lift her feet off the ground. She let out a cry as she was knocked back into Yoshiki.

Yoshiki followed behind Ayumi, staying somewhere in the middle of the two girls, but close enough to Mitsuki that he could still see her to the side. He stopped when Ayumi approached a door, genuinely surprised as it opened... and equally so when she seemed to fly at him. His reaction skills weren't the best, so he didn't have enough time to brace himself for the impact. He did succeed in 'catching' her, but failed in the standing up right department. He hit the floor to his back, slightly knocking the wind out of his lungs, but other than that, he was fine... Except for the fact that Ayumi was sprawled across him, causing his heart to race. His face exploded in red, which he quickly hid with his arm, fake coughing to pretend that was his reasoning for doing so. And with fake coughs came real ones, so it made his excuse more credible. However, where he may have successfully hidden his bright cheeks from Ayumi, Mitsuki may have been a different case.

**"Ow,"** Ayumi whimpered as she tried to gain her bearings. Her head was spinning from the door quite literally tossing her away. She shifted a little, realizing slowly Yoshiki was underneath her. She shot off him quickly, face red with embarrassment.**"Ack, sorry..."** she mumbled quietly to Yoshiki for landing on him. **"I... don't think we're getting in that room," **she said in her normal voice. Her heart was beating uncomfortably, from what she wasn't sure. The door's barrier freaked her out, but that was also a lot of contact with a boy...

Mitsuki watched Yoshiki's reaction, a sly look slowly appeared on her face. She looked like she was ready to tease him in front of Ayumi, but she bit her tongue for the moment. **"I guess we should just move on then,"** Mitsuki shrugged, ushering Ayumi to continue on so she could have a lil' conversation with Yoshiki.

Yoshiki sat up after Ayumi removed herself from him, feeling he had recovered enough to let his arm drop. He stood, brushing himself off a little.**"Just warn me next time you decide to fly,"** he said with a hint of sarcasm, eyeing the entryway curiously. Something must not want them in there, that was for sure... When Mitsuki suggested moving on, he nodded, planning to walk forward, not knowing Mitsuki wanted a word with him specifically.

Ayumi's face reddened at his sarcastic comment, a small pout of her lips. She just hummed lightly, acknowledging his comment awkwardly. She glanced at the doorway one more time, a little irritated at it for knocking her back. Couldn't she have just ran into it like a glass door? She continued walking, silent as she moved.

Mitsuki pinched Yoshiki's sleeve, stopping him from walking ahead of her. Though, she kept walking so they didn't lose Ayumi. She smiled lightly, a suggestive look in her eyes. **"So, Kishinuma..."** she began innocently, **"are you interested in Shinozaki?"** she made sure her question was quiet, so Ayumi could stay in the dark on what they were chatting about.

Yoshiki looked at Mitsuki as he felt a pull on his sleeve, easing back so he could walk beside her. He was about to ask what she wanted, but he wasn't waiting long for his question to be answered. _Are you interested in Shinozaki?_ Just at the question, his cheeks flared up again, taking a quick glance at Ayumi to make sure she wasn't listening. **"Wh... what makes you think that?"** he asked quietly as if he thought the mere idea was silly, but he wasn't a great actor.

Mitsuki have to muffle a small giggle at his reaction because it was _cute._ Ah, she was a bit jealous of Ayumi, honestly. **"You keep reddening up,"** she whispered back.**"Honestly, i'm surprised your face isn't lighting up the hall,"** she teased him. She thought it was adorable, even though Ayumi seemed painfully unaware of Yoshiki's feelings. She seemed to be pining after... ah, what was his name? Moshida? Mochida? Something like that. Mitsuki hoped Ayumi wasn't foolish enough to toss away such a great guy, though. Plus, Yoshiki was here. The other guy wasn't.

Her teasing was only making Yoshiki more and more embarrassed, making it difficult to deny her question... even though it was already impossible from the moment she even asked. **"S... so what if I am?"** he asked defensively, crossing his arms and looking dead ahead, unable to take the her playful jeering. He was very past saying that he wasn't. She'd know he was lying, obviously, so he'd guess he'd just be vague about it.

Mitsuki couldn't take how freaking _adorable_ this was. Still, it was hard to not remember where they are... she frowned lightly. **"You should tell her,"** Mitsuki advised earnestly. Right after those words left her mouth she remembered that there was a chance Ayumi would reject his sentiment. Although, maybe Ayumi was just too focused on that Mochida boy to realize her feelings for the guy who was actually there for her. She certainly hoped that was the case. She had to admit to herself, though, that she wasn't fully aware of their friend's group dynamics. **"Or, at the very least, try using her first name. You two are close, right?"** Mitsuki added, after realizing how intense her last comment was. First names would be a stepping stone to confessions, she bet.

Just the mere suggestion was making Yoshiki nervous. He would never be able to pull that off, especially when he knew who Ayumi really liked. **"That's... not really possible for me... I think she likes someone else... a lot,"** he mentioned, downtrodden as he thought about all the times she's mentioned Satoshi. The thing about a first name basis made him equally as anxious, his normal embarrassed expression returning. **"I-I can't do that,"** he protested quietly, **"Just calling her Ayumi all of the sudden would be weird..."** Though, he did like the way it sounded...

Mitsuki tilted her head at him, pouting slightly. **"Geeze, I didn't think of you as the cowardly type. You're so forward with everything else,"** she commented. He was right about her other crush... but Mitsuki wondered how much of a crush she really had. **"Is the guy she interested in, interested in her too?"** she questioned curiously. She glanced ahead, Ayumi still leading them down the long hallway. She seemed consumed in her own thoughts, which was good. **"We're in a situation that you could just start using her first name! She'd probably just follow your lead. That's what I do. I wait for guys to start using my first name before I use their's,"** she commented thoughtfully. Most the time she waited for that cue to know if the guy saw her that way.

Yoshiki just looked away at the mentioned of his cowardice, rubbing the back of his head. ** "I'm not too sure..,"** he muttered. If he had to guess, he'd say no, but if Satoshi did like Ayumi, his teasing him would probably increase by ten fold out of pent up aggression, **"I don't think so... At least, he never acts differently around her."** He did do nice things for her and such, while he was just the third wheel, but Satoshi was generally polite to everyone. Ayumi just seemed to take more of a liking to him than others. Maybe she thought he was giving her extra treatment because he liked her? And that's where it started?... Or, he could be completely off... **"I doubt it... I think she'll just give me a weird look or something equally embarrassing,"** he noted in dismay, highly doubting Ayumi would just stat calling him Yoshiki because he was being friendly. If anything, she'd probably think he was being creepy.

Mitsuki looked at Yoshiki, taking in all he was saying. It seemed like they had a bit of a triangle going on here... though, with no current connecting points. So, Yoshiki liked Ayumi, Ayumi liked Mochida, and Mochida liked... no one? To her knowledge, which was admittedly limited. **"It's pretty obvious when a guy likes someone, so if you don't think he likes her, you're probably good. Hm, wait, are you and Mochida friends? Wow, that must be hard to deal with,"** Mitsuki said thoughtfully. Friendship came first, she believed, but it would be rough to mix in such romantic ordeals. She shook her head lightly at him with his worries about addressing her by her first name. **"There's always a chance of embarrassment with that type of stuff. But, what if she does accept it? Or, if she questions you, just be honest," **Mitsuki replied with a shrug. **"Even if she just starts calling you by your first name to not hurt your feelings, it'll become natural after a while!"** she advised with a smile. Though, once it came out of her mouth, she wondered if that was the best thing to say to convince him.

Yoshiki thought for a moment, and he was pretty sure Satoshi didn't like Ayumi... but he did blush an awful lot around...**"Yeah, I don't think he does... but... he might like Nakashima..,"** he said softly, then added, **"Another friend of ours."** He then paused, thinking about their friendship. Yeah, they were friends... but... Gah... It _was_hard to deal with, but he didn't like to think he took his frustration out on him. After all, it was only playful teasing he ever did to Satoshi. He wouldn't want to lose him as a friend, since he didn't have that many... In fact, he would consider Ayumi and Satoshi his only close friends, and losing Satoshi would probably end in losing Ayumi. Then he'd be alone again...

Be honest if she asked? That immediately turned him away from using her first name. He couldn't tell her... He couldn't even play a fake scenario in his head... much less do it for real! The second comment didn't help either. He didn't want to be pitied...**"Uhh... I appreciate the help, but... I can't do it..,"** he said, becoming embarrassed yet again. He sounded like such a wimp, but that's because he was, in the emotions department.

Mitsuki sighed heavily, looking sympathetic at the embarrassed boy. It was weird that he was able to keep a straight face with the dead and decay of this Heavenly Host School but put him in a position where he'd have to be honest about his feelings? He looked scared at the very thought. **"Unrequited love is the worst,"** she said. She thought back to Ayumi's reactions to her previous questions. She seemed like she had never really thought of Yoshiki in that light. What had she said? She trusted Mochida... she never replied how she viewed Yoshiki, though. So, maybe there was hope? She would certainly like to see Yoshiki win her over. **"Well, i'm rooting for you, Kishinuma," **Mitsuki told him brightly.

Ayumi glanced behind her, unable to catch any of the words they were saying but was aware that the two were talking about _something._ Still, she wasn't too concerned with that. She was just hoping to find another person soon... preferably someone from their class. Even if it wasn't Mochida... she'd do anything to see any of them safe. She stopped walking when her light illuminated something. She crouched, picking up the squishy head of a doll without a body. **"What the...?"** she questioned, staring at it. _What is a doll doing here? And where's its body?_

**"Don't make any bets,"** Yoshiki said flatly, much in contrast to her bubbly response. His chances weren't all that great, even in an environment where Satoshi was missing from the equation. It was like he was still there, like a ghost lingering about every time he and Ayumi seemed alone. He couldn't see it, but felt it's presence. He stopped as Ayumi did, approaching her to see if she had found something of interest... and to get away from the conversation, despite it sounding over. **"What is it?"** he asked, unable to get a good look in the lighting.

Ayumi stood up and turned around to face Yoshiki. She brought her hand and light up between them, so he could clearly make out the doll's head. **"It's a doll head,"** she said, staring at it. It might have been cute, if she had seen it in a store in the normal world. Here, in Heavenly Host, the sewn on smile and plastered big eyes made her uneasy. **"I don't know where its body is, though,"** she added on. It hadn't been on the ground near it...but it was probably around the school, she would guess.

Yoshiki stared at the foreboding, body-less doll. While it did make him uneasy, it seemed like it was important. Everything seemed to be here for a reason or other...**"That's weird... but... I think we should hold onto it, just in case,"** he spoke. In any game or whatever, when you find one piece of something, odds are you're going to find the other, and the completed version would help you in some sort of endeavor. Even though this was reality, no matter how surreal it was, he felt it would work out in the same way.

Ayumi nodded, fingers squeezing the doll head lightly. **"Yeah, we probably should," **she said. She didn't particularly like carrying it around, but it was so different than anything else, it was a good call it would end up being significant. Besides, it barely weighed anything. It was just a little... creepy. Ayumi looked away from the doll and Yoshiki, looking around. **"Yamamoto?"** she questioned, unsure if she just couldn't make her out in the dark... She waited a moment and there was no response. Ayumi held her candle to illuminate the hall. She wasn't there. Her heart sank, **"Yamamoto?"**she yelled out later, just in case the girl had wandered a little bit away. No answer. She hadn't even heard Mitsuki leave, but Ayumi was sure that she left them. **"W-where did she go?"** she asked Yoshiki, as if he would have the answer.

Yoshiki turned, his dread instantly coming back. They had just been talking so light-heartedly... Where had she gone? As if reading his mind, Ayumi asked him the same thing. **"I-... I don't know...,"** he muttered, his look panicked. She couldn't have gotten far, but... he had never heard her leave in the first place. Where nothing else could be heard and virtually everything echoed, it would be near impossible to run away without being noticed. **"What... should we do?"** he asked slowly, starting to break out in a cold sweat. This was bad, he could just feel it.

Ayumi looked around uncertainly, afraid to move forward. This couldn't be could. Actually, this had disaster written all over it... no way Mitsuki would have just innocently have wandered off, right? **"We... we check the rooms, right? She couldn't have gone far..."** Ayumi said, trying to convince herself that Mitsuki had just wandered into a room. Ayumi approached a door, hands twitching nervously as she slid it open. It was empty, and she felt herself deflate. She shut the door, glancing at Yoshiki with concern. Her blood ran cold when she heard Mitsuki's giggle coming from the room across from her. She reacted quickly, opening the door and hurrying inside. **"Yamamoto!"** she yelled, eyes widening as she saw two ghost children on either side of Mitsuki. **"Yamamoto, get away!"**

At the suggestion, Yoshiki nodded and quickly went to the other side of the hall, pulling at the first door he came to. His wouldn't budge however. His wrist throbbed at the use, but the panic he felt overrode it. He was about to pull at it again in a desperate attempt to open it, but then he heard giggles echo through the halls. He quickly followed Ayumi to the source of it, the color leaving his face as he saw Mitsuki, accompanied by two of the ghost children. _Oh... God..._, he thought, and instantly resorted to yelling. **"What the Hell are you doing?! Get away from there, Yamamoto!"** he ordered, but it sounded more like a plea by his tone.

Mitsuki stared at the two. **"Shinozaki, Kishinuma,"** she greeted with a smile. Still, the smile seemed off and tears were flowing down her cheeks. Ayumi stared at her in panic, trying to figure out what to the. The ghost children's eyes were focused on Mitsuki, but they were definitely aware of her and Yoshiki. **"Come over here, Yamamoto," **Ayumi begged, wanting her away from the ghosts.

**"It's okay. They aren't bad children, they've just suffered horribly. You read that article..."** Mitsuki spoke, a sob escaping her. Ayumi thought back to the paper, speaking of cut off tongues and dismantled bodies. **"I'm going to... stay here with them."** Ayumi's eyes widen, her heart racing. The ghosts seemed horribly _pleased_with themselves and whatever they were doing to Mitsuki.

**"Aren't bad? Like Hell!"** Yoshiki argued, his voice forceful but his face completely terrified. What would happen to Mitsuki if she didn't get away...? In fact, could she get away? **"One tried to kill me! And they'll do the same to you if you don't get away!"** he said, trying to emphasize just how dangerous this was, but something told him nothing they could say would matter to her... because... she probably wasn't her. He didn't want to accept that though.

Ayumi watched Mitsuki's face as Yoshiki yelled at her, seeing a mix of sadness. Could she even get away? Ayumi took a step forward, preparing herself to grab Mitsuki's hand but the ghosts rose off the ground, causing the room to shake. She stepped back, staring in horror as the ghosts seemed determined to keep her. **"It's okay, Kishinuma. They need me,"**she explained with a tearful smile.

**"Don't be stupid Yamamoto!"** Ayumi screamed at her. **"They'll kill you!"** she cried, hoping her words would reach Mitsuki as they had with Yoshiki during his hallucination. The girl's expression didn't falter, though. She refused to leave the room without Mitsuki! She wouldn't just abandon her with the ghosts. It was then she noticed the ghosts and their creepy grins. Suddenly, Mitsuki was raised into the air like a limp doll, the room shaking again violently.

As the ghost children seemed to have lost their patience with the two, preparing to kill them, a girl appeared between the two. She tossed holy water with a flick of her wrist, causing the children to scream and back down. She turned around, eyes focusing on the two that weren't being manipulated by the ghosts. She grabbed both their wrists and pulled them quickly outside the door and away from the ghosts.

**"Hm, you two have just arrived here, haven't you?"** she questioned. Her eyes were hollow and expression was unnerving.

It was over... Mitsuki couldn't recover. He began shaking without total notice about it, starting to realize just how dire this was. She was, by no means, thinking for herself. She must... be possessed...? They had to get her out of it. As she rose from the ground and the ghosts approached, his thoughts raced. He wanted to get her out, but he was terrified... Though, aside from his fear, he still attempted to shove Ayumi behind him, protectively. But, his action was unnecessary, as a stranger literally appeared out of thin air, tossing some sort of liquid at the ghosts. They were repelled, and then, the girl dragged both him and Ayumi out of the room. His first thought was to go back and help Mitsuki, but he was at a loss for what to do for her, and this girl seemed to know something they didn't. **"Y... yeah... but, who are you?... Or rather, **_**what **_**are you?"**he asked back, skeptical of her helpfulness.

Ayumi felt terror when she saw the impending ghosts, but a moment later she was swept up. Outside, away from the ghosts and poor Mitsuki, she had to catch her breath. Though, once she caught sight of the figure who saved her, her mind went blank. **"You... wouldn't happen to be Saenoki Naho, would you?"**she questioned, having a hard time controlling herself from staring at her with admiration.

**"I am,"** Naho replied, looking over Ayumi. She felt herself blush under her eyes. And, while it was tempting to explain her idolization of her, she held herself back. She couldn't forget that Mitsuki was in trouble.

Naho raised an eyebrow at the girl, surprised that she had recognized. Though, it wasn't too far-fetched, given the circumstances. She looked at Yoshiki. **"I'm dead,"** she explained shortly. She had no reason to lie about her current status, since it wasn't hard to gather. **"You two are interested in saving your friend in there, correct?"** Naho questioned calmly. Her entire disposition was cool, calm and almost uncaring. Her arms crossed over her chest as she stared the two down.

Yoshiki gave a quick strange look to Ayumi, but decided to ignore it. By the look in her eyes, this was probably some paranormal star or something. He wouldn't know, and he didn't particularly care who she used to be. **"Yes,"** he answered with a determined look,**"Do you know how?"** He assumed that was the only reason she would ask, but he had to make sure. For once in these panic filled moments he was hopeful that everything would turn out ok.

Naho smirked at Yoshiki, as if amused by his determination. **"I have a theory,"** she started slowly and purposefully. She didn't want these two coming back to her later, screaming about the plan not working. She was being upfront with the possible failure. She looked over at Ayumi, who practically jumped as the focus shifted to her. **"You see, I believe if the ghosts hear repentance from their killer, they'll finally be able to move on," **she explained.

**"But their killer... was that teacher... he's not even here," **Ayumi said, confusion in her voice. Naho had to resist a laugh at how clueless the two really were.

**"Oh, he's here. But, unfortunately you won't get any intelligible words from him. But, I have the next best thing,"** Naho said, pulling out the body of a doll.

Ayumi felt herself become uncomfortable at the illusion Naho was giving. The teacher was here? She had to push the question from her head, she needed to find out how to help Mitsuki. Her eyes widened at the body of the doll, the same colors and stitching pattern as the head were on it. She was a little surprised when it was tossed to her all of a sudden. She caught it, unsure how the head would be able to connect to the body. She just pressed the fabric together, and something kept the head from falling off. Suddenly, a sound seemed to come from the doll, a small pitiful voice began to speak.

_I am so sorry  
I am so sorry  
so very sorry_

Ayumi had to resist the urge to toss the doll away in fear. She looked up to Naho. **"Are you saying... this would count as repentance?"**

**"In theory,"** Naho answered shortly.

Yoshiki was quickly uneasy again at her sudden smile. It didn't give him a good feeling, but rather made him want to turn tail and run. But, the urge wasn't large at all, so he held his ground, and tried to do the same about his expression. He watched as the girl, Naho, revealed the body that seemed to exactly match the head that was in their possession. The head reattached unnaturally, and began... talking? He was completely freaked out, but kept it covered. **"So... 'in theory'... means it could fail?" **he asked, starting to become uncertain, **"What happens if it fails?"** Most likely, the ghosts would just attack them, and then they'd all end up dead... but it was a risk he was willing to take. They had to get Mitsuki out of there. **"Then again... I guess, it's all we've got...,"** he muttered, then glanced to Ayumi, **"Do you want to try it?"**

Ayumi frowned, staring intensely at the doll as it repeated its apology again and again. So, the teacher's spirit was being conveyed through it? She looked over to Yoshiki, nodding. **"Yeah, I want to give it a shot,"** she told him. It had to work... it had to work because it was the only thing they could do. Otherwise... this may be the end for them. She looked over at Naho, **"Thank you, Saenoki." **It was surreal, to meet her idol in a location such as this. It was also disheartening that she had died, since, if Ayumi could guess on one person to find themselves a way out of this hell, it would be Naho.

Naho barely nodded in acknowledgement. **"Good luck,"** Naho said simply. Then, with a blink, she was gone. Ayumi stared at the spot, before looking at Yoshiki with determination. **"Well, let's go,"** Ayumi said, going back into the room. She hesitated, for a second, when she saw the ghosts and Mitsuki's still floating body. She took a deep breath as she walked in front of the ghosts, clutching the doll tightly.


	8. Chapter 8

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

Some things in the original story line are drastically changed, otherwise it would mostly be a repeating of the game. If you see something different, or if an area is in the wrong place, you do not need to inform me.

UNDERLINED PARTS ARE PLACES WHERE THE STORY CAN DIVERGE INTO A WRONG END. READ WRONG ENDS IN AT THE SEPARATE STORY TITLED AS SUCH.

* * *

Yoshiki nodded to Ayumi's decision, turning to enter the room with her after Naho disappeared. The ghost children were still at each of Mitsuki's sides, and she was still suspended above the floor. He felt his anxiety build as Ayumi prepared herself, and let the children hear the doll's remorseful voice. The two children stopped for a moment, staring at the doll, as if transfixed. _Did it work?_ he thought hopefully, gulping as a sweat drop trailed down the side of his face. But then, everything went to Hell, if it hadn't already. The children began screaming in anguish, their faces filled with anger. They stepped forward, charging out the hall with Mitsuki. _H-huh?_ he asked, his brain unable to catch up with what had taken place in the few seconds. There was screaming, and then a loud thud that seemed to shake the world below him. His eyes were wide, and he found it impossible to move, except for a short stumble backward to the wall. His brain momentarily shut down, and he just stood there, staring out the door.

Ayumi looked hopefully at the ghosts as the voice began to beg forgiveness. Then, they turned violent, taking Mitsuki at breakneck speeds outside the door. The second crash was even worse, causing her stomach to drop. The doll kept speaking, kept saying sorry, well sorry didn't mean jack! **"Stupid doll!"** she hissed, throwing it across the room. It hit a wall and fell down onto the floor, its cotton limbs sprawled about. Ayumi's feet felt heavy, but she couldn't stop herself as she went running out the door. She was panting as she ran, then, as she approached the wall, she felt everything crash down around her. Blood, organs, bones, all smashed and mushed together on impact against the schools' wall. Ayumi's hand covered her mouth as she began to tremble, her brain trying to catch up with what just happened. _Mitsuki,_ she thought in horror. _**"NO, NO, NOOOOO!"**_ Ayumi screamed, her knees giving out as she crumbled to the floor. Her arms tightly wound around her stomach as she cried and screamed.

Even as Ayumi continued out of the room, Yoshiki couldn't find the needed strength to follow her. _It failed... Mitsuki..._, he thought, suddenly feeling he should follow suit outside into the hall... no matter how terrified he was. He heard Ayumi's cries and yelling, his heart sinking. As he came upon the scene, it took all he had to hold in the contents of his stomach. He was silent in shock, before gritting his teeth, slamming his hand against the wall. It sent an agonizing pain throughout his body, reminding him this was all real. This... mess... was Mitsuki... **"Goddammit!"** he yelled out, taking his hand away from the day and letting it cover his face as he began to get more frustrated. They failed... and because of it, she died... in such a horrid fashion... But, he was taken out of his own thoughts as he heard Ayumi's unending sobs below him. He quickly came down to her level, taking her shoulders in his hands. **"C... come on, Shinozaki! Don't look!"** he pleaded, trying to pull her towards him so that her sight wasn't focused on the corpse.

Yoshiki was saying something to her, but it was muffled under her loud, gasping sobs. She looked at the corpse, catching sight of one of Mitsuki's eyeballs sitting in the red mush of what used to be a person. She drew in a sharp breath, turning to bury her head in Yoshiki's chest as she sobbed. **"I can't take this place anymore!"** Ayumi yelled into him. Her voice drowned into sobs as she pictured Mitsuki, who was with them not even half an hour ago. They were so close! Yet that damn doll failed them... those damned children hurt Mitsuki who was innocent in all of this! They were all innocent! It wasn't fair! Is that going to be all their fates in this awful place? Would they just be another group of corpses to be strewn about the halls and rooms for future people to find? She wanted to go home, she wanted to go to class and sit through the boring lectures, she wanted homework and studying. She just wanted some normalcy! It wasn't fair... they shouldn't be dying! Mitsuki shouldn't be dead. As the thoughts raced through her head at miles a minute, she sobbed painfully, and her entire body trembling violently.

Yoshiki wasn't quite expecting her to cry into his shirt, but it was understandable. It also got her eyes off of the body... And the given stress of the situation, and his own frustration at their failure, ruined how he would normally take such contact with Ayumi. He placed a hand on her head, letting his other arm wrap around her waist. It was the only way he could give her further comfort, his mind at a loss of words._Mitsuki... I'm sorry.._, he thought, forcing his eyes shut and holding Ayumi closer, _If I hadn't... If I had stayed by your side, this wouldn't have happened!_ It was useless to blame himself for such an unexpected event, but he couldn't help it. She was alone, no one making sure she was ok. Even though she had been so close... she was still easily swept up by the ghosts. _I'm sorry... really... I... failed you... dammit..._

Just moments ago... not even five minutes... they had been talking... She was the only person he told about his feelings to Ayumi... and she had been trying to get him to do such trivial things. _You shouldn't root for me... I'm not who Ayumi yearns for... I can't imagine how you believed in me at all, a hopeless and clueless delinquent..._ His thoughts on moments when she was still alive helped, yet made it worse. He held in a sob as he held onto Ayumi tightly, trying his best to focus on the wall across from him rather than the body. _You __**really **__wanted me to try though... And I guess... you can't even hope to win a race if you don't run..._ **"Come on, Ayumi... We can't stop here... She wouldn't want us to just lay down and die,"** he said, his voice struggling to come out. He could only hope that she wasn't angered by his seemingly calm demeanor, since on the inside, he was torn.

Ayumi's throat was burning from the sobs that wouldn't stop escaping her. She clung to Yoshiki, her only lifeline in this awful, cruel, unbearable place. Ayumi managed to choke her sobs back as Yoshiki spoke to her. Her mind went in two directions simultaneously. First, he was right. As wrecked as Mitsuki might have been about her friends death... she managed to pull herself together in the thought of the future. She had even been brave enough to go back and travel over it, just to keep moving on. She had been fighting and that meant Ayumi had to keep fighting just like her. She wouldn't let Mitsuki's death be completely pointless and meaningless. She had learned from the girl, to carry herself in times of hardship. She couldn't, as Yoshiki had said, lay down and die. Secondly, had he used her first name? She blinked, a little confused about the sudden shift. She could understand it, though. They were by themselves in hell, perhaps it was a little silly to continue using their last names. **"O..okay, Yoshiki,"** she sniffled as she pulled back from him. It was a little weird, to say his first name, but it didn't feel wrong. She could accept the shift, since it felt natural at this point.

Yoshiki released her as she pulled away, but kept a grip on her shoulder. He forced a smile, then stood, helping her up with him. He ushered her, and himself, forward, leaving the awfulness behind them. It was only after they got a decent amount away that he processed exactly what she had said. She... had called him Yoshiki... A true, small smile formed. He had never been so happy to hear his own name, even if it _was _to not hurt his feelings. And now, he could say Ayumi, a name that he only uttered in dreams... Ha, he was getting so giddy over just a name... It was really sad. He then pulled himself together, ridding his mind of all painful feelings, to talk to her normally. **"Do you have anymore candles?"** he asked, unaware of where she had dropped it prior. Really, he didn't even know why he asked if she had them. Of course she did. She had an unreal amount, but he definitely wouldn't complain.

Ayumi felt a little better as they moved away from Mitsuki's remains. She wondered if she would ever be able to think of Mitsuki without picturing that red-drenched wall again. She hoped so, since Mitsuki had become a friend in the time they spent together. Ayumi looked at Yoshiki as he asked her for a candle. She nodded softly, pulling one out and lighting it. The light hurt her eyes a little at first, but she quickly readjusted to the light. She let out a huge sigh, trying to let the negative feelings go. She couldn't mope, she and Yoshiki had things to do. Find their friends and find an exit. She looked at Yoshiki, determination in her eyes as she repeated her goals to herself mentally. **"Now what?"** she questioned. Since, even if they had their goals, they really didn't have much to go on to accomplish them.

**"Ah, well...,"** Yoshiki muttered, glancing down the hall that they had yet to search. **"I guess we keep looking and hope one of our friends are in our plane, or whatever they're called."** He rubbed the back of his head, thinking back on what the ghost had said. **"And... if they're not, I guess we keep trying to find more information about this place, and hopefully come across something to do with how to get in contact with them."** He began to walk forward, then glanced to a door Ayumi had opened earlier while trying to look for Mitsuki, wondering if there was anything else in there. That was an option, the hall had yet to be completely searched out, and he still had that key resting in his pocket. There was still plenty of places to look, so their chances weren't completely devastated.

Ayumi nodded lightly, eyes glancing down the hall. There were plenty of rooms to check, which meant there was a lot of possibilities. It felt like forever of going in and out of classroom doors. They scavenged on the floors, in the teacher's desks, and any other crevice they could try and get into. There was very little of note, which was disheartening. Their had been no sign of another person, either, which lowered Ayumi's hopes farther. She just wanted something to show a light at the end of this tunnel. She felt more and more miserable as each room gave nothing to go off of. No articles, reports, pictures, stones, or keys. Nothing. She felt any determination slipping, so when they got to the last room, she was putting a lot of faith in it. The door slid open, and she was met with the sight of a skeleton, with its skull crushed in. It was the straw that broke the camel's back as she felt herself beginning to cry again.

As the door slid open, Yoshiki went straight in, ignoring the skeleton as well as he could. But, he heard Ayumi begin to cry again... He had thought she had gotten over it, but she probably didn't find it an easy thing to get used to. Not that it was easy for him, it was just the only way, and therefore wasn't hard. But Ayumi... she needed some tough love if she was going to get past this and carry on. He turned, coming back out into the hall next to her and then placing a hand on his side, a slightly demanding expression on his face. **"C'mon Ayumi, you can't cry every time we come across one,"** he said, frowning, **"You can't keep being so soft-hearted."** He was well aware he was asking a lot from her, but he wanted to help her get stronger, even if a push was necessary.

Ayumi's eyes widened as Yoshiki spoke to her so casually about getting used to dead bodies. He didn't even give them the dignity of being called people, skeletons, corpses or anything that at least put some humanity into the subject. The surprise in her eyes flashes away as she looked at him with anger. **"How dare you!"** she snapped, infuriated by everything about this entire situation and how he wanted her to just suck it up. He was so insensitive! Everything was easy for him to just handle! He couldn't understand why she was being affected because he was _cold._ **"I wish Mochida was here instead of you!"** she screamed, the first thought that entered her head. Because Mochida was warm, understanding, and wouldn't address a dead person as just _one._

Yoshiki stared at her, taken aback by her sudden outburst, and pained by her words. Satoshi... in place of him? He, who had watched out for her this whole time? Who gave her someone to lean on when she couldn't take it? She... would replace him without a second thought? His expression reflected his pained look, as if he had been betrayed. He... was only trying to help her... whether or not she knew the true reason for any of the things that he did, even in his prior words.**"I-...," **he muttered, looking down to the floor, grabbing at his chest. He felt anger bubbling up at her hurtful comment, dreading the moment it would surface. He knew his tendency to lash out too well, and he had to stop it. He never wanted to release all his pent up aggression at Ayumi.

That wouldn't help anything... he had to hold it in. **"I... guess he would be better... huh?"** he choked out, letting himself lean back against the wall. He was sympathetic, and knew exactly how others felt and how to help them... But him? He was a hopeless mess that had never earned the right to be helped out of the hole he had dug for himself, even though others were responsible for giving him the shovel. He had always found it hard to help others, or even himself... He hadn't done anything to deserve the life... the friends he had now, not even up to present.

Ayumi flinched as her anger wasn't reflected back at her, and instead he seemed to back down. She was expecting a fight, a chance to yell and scream. Yet, here she was staring at Yoshiki as his eyes reflected pain from her comment. She felt deflated, guilty, and like an awful person. Yoshiki had been there for her this entire time, ready to shoulder her pains. This is how she repays him? With hurtful words? **"Yoshiki... I," **she began to say uncertainly. **"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have... said something like that,"** she admitted, eyes staring at the ground. **"You've... done a lot... I shouldn't have..."** her voice trailed off guiltily. She felt like she had stabbed him in the back, for some reason. Maybe it was because of the betrayal in his expression when she yelled about replacing him so easily.

**"No... no, you're right,"** Yoshiki said quietly, a small, pitiful laugh following,**"Satoshi knows how to handle others when they're sad, but I... I don't know how to help myself emotionally, let alone other people."** He was probably wrong at being detached, too, turning himself into a soulless shell. If they did ever get out, would his constant, extreme coldness toward others carry over? He wouldn't be surprised to take the wrong approach to his own emotions and well-being. But he didn't want Ayumi to become like that... The fact that she cried... that she felt so much genuine sorrow at the lives lost here meant that she was still human. So what did that make him? What was he, when he was passing these people without a single second thought? When he didn't even let out his emotions when Mitsuki died, or the blood stained room, or the girl named Emi, what would he be called?

Ayumi stared at Yoshiki, realizing how her harsh words really did cut him down. **"Stop, Yoshiki!"** she demanded, her volume was not raised, yet her voice was firm.**"Maybe you aren't the most emotional person... But, just because you don't like to wear your heart on your sleeve doesn't mean you don't have a heart. You keep yourself together through all this by bearing with the pain silently. Your ability to deal with all this has saved our lives in this hellhole... You're the only reason i'm alive right now,"** she admitted, truly believing it. Yoshiki was the only thing that kept her going down here, when she collapsed to the ground hyperventilating and crying... he got her moving again. **"I'm really, truly glad that out of everyone, I was put in this place with you,"** she said genuinely, tears appearing in her eyes as they always did when giving any type of speech.

Yoshiki looked from the floor, showing she had his undivided attention when she demanded he stop. He only watched as she began to speak, hearing truth in her voice, and tears forming on the brim of her eyes. This... reminded him of the first time she had given him his life saving speech. Seeing her at the brink of crying, but not from sadness, brought back how moved he felt the last time, giving him the feeling that someone really cared in the world what happened to him, and what he thought about himself. His grip on his chest tightened, feeling an ache, but not a bad one. _I'm still human... right, Ayumi?_ he thought, holding in a sob, _Right?..._ A true human's heart could only take so much, and he was overwhelmed with a flood of emotions that had been trapped in the bottom of his. He looked back down to the floor, sliding down to sit, then hiding his face with his arm. His shoulders shook and tears released down his face, but he still bit his lip to keep from letting any noises escape.

Ayumi watched him carefully, hoping her words would reach him. She was silent as she watched him slowly break down. She felt relief at his tears, that he was just letting himself feel everything that was happening. He shouldn't try to hard to hide everything and bear it by himself, especially when she was here. She decided to herself that she wouldn't be such a burden to Yoshiki anymore. She would keep herself together, so he didn't have to for her. The next movement she was unsure about, but it was what she did for Mitsuki when she was feeling pain. It was what her sister always did for her when she came knocking on her door with tears in her eyes. It's what Yoshiki had just done for her when faced with Mitsuki's death. She walked next to Yoshiki, crouching down on her knees. She just wrapped her arms around him, letting him know that she was there. Because in this dark, hateful place, just knowing there's another person is the difference between fighting on and giving up.

Yoshiki's trembles increased as she enveloped him into a hug. He rested his head on her should, removing his arm and wrapping both of them tightly around her. He finally allowed himself to scream out, relieving him further of his pent up emotions, his eyes shut tightly and tears wet Ayumi's shirt. In all his time throughout middle school and high school, he had always barred himself from his emotions. The true pain he felt when teachers and his parents seemed to desert him, all the times he returned to his small home, by himself, everything... He could finally let it out next to Ayumi.

Within a few moments, his breathing calmed, and his grip on her weakened. He didn't want to pull away, though, even ashamed she had seen him like this. But... he was still grateful about her help... about everything. **"...Thank you, Ayumi...,"** he muttered, for much more than she was even aware of.

Ayumi listened to him release his anguish, her heart twisting as she realized how much he had been holding in. How had he kept this all to himself for so long? It was too much for one person to bear. When his grip slackened, Ayumi pulled back to smile at him and his thank you. **"Anytime," **she told him genuinely, hoping this would help him continuously let out his emotions so he didn't have to have these breakdowns. She was pretty surprised that this all unraveled from her cruel words... though she was hoping they were just going to put that behind them. She stood back up, taking a few steps away from him so he could get up as well.

Though, there was still the issue of _now what?_ They were at a dead end with no good ideas on how to continue. Their were parts of the school that were just inaccessible, whether it from jammed, locked doors, giants gaps, and a general lack of knowledge on the school's map.

Yoshiki felt the warmth ebb away as Ayumi released him, and he did her. He already felt a chill he hadn't noticed before, but he guessed it was because he was warmer than normal. He quickly rubbed his face and around his eyes, determined to pretend like it hadn't happened. That whole emotional moment was very embarrassing for him, even though he really did feel a lot better. He stood, a little shaky from the trembling and the energy it used, so he had to use the wall to make sure he kept his balance. He kept his hands on his knees, looking to the side with a slight blush. **"Just don't... tell anyone else...," **he muttered, sniffing.

He stood up right after a moment, letting out a heavy sigh. **"I guess... the next thing to do is find a home for this key,"** he said, obviously wanting to pretend none of that had happened. While they hadn't went to explore the next room, he felt it probably held nothing, like all the rooms before that could be opened.

**"It'll be our little secret,"** Ayumi assured him with a light smile. She liked seeing that side of him, to know that under all that coolness and calmness, he really was just like everyone else. Ayumi nodded as he mentioned the key, figuring that was really the only thing they could do. Back to business, it seemed. **"Plus, Mitsuki said she had been here with friends,"** Ayumi added thoughtfully. **"There must be other students from her class around here."** Hopefully they weren't all dead at this point... but she definitely remembered Mituski using the plural of friends. So, they still had hope in finding other people. **"So, any idea where the key might go?"** she asked, unsure how to tell what a key belonged to by looking at it. Cabinets, doors, machines, and even just locked notebooks all were in the air at the moment, which was a lot of things to look and examine.

Yoshiki dug into his pocket, pulling out the slightly rusted key. He would guess it went to a door, but which was another question... **"I'd say... a door... but I have no idea which... All I know is that it doesn't go to any in the left hall on the second floor. I tried all of those already,"** he noted, specifically remembering checking all of the doors he couldn't open, but he had stopped trying after reaching the library. **"Do you remember any doors that seemed locked?" **he asked. He could recall a few, but he only knew about the ones he pulled at. He hadn't tried any of the doors on Ayumi's side.

Though, he was finding it hard to focus... All this physical and emotional exertion was really wearing him down... It took some effort not to yawn... though, he doubted if he even had a place to sleep that he could. This place was too unsettling for him to get any peace of mind to fall asleep.

Ayumi rested her elbow in the palm of her hand, her other hand cupped her face thoughtfully. She tried to remember all the doors... though it was pretty difficult because the entire school was pretty similar in appearance. **"There... was that one door by the infirmary. It was down the hallway, just in front of that huge gap of missing floorboard. If... it it opens that door, we could go to the other side of the classroom and get out to the other side,"** Ayumi said, hoping her memory was accurate. If what she was thinking of was correct, that means they could reach a new patch of school. She loved the way classrooms were built with two doors all of a sudden, a fact she never really even took into consideration. Otherwise, it wouldn't work, given the fact the gap was way too long to jump across. **"At least... it might be, maybe,"** she said cautiously, trying to pull back her hope.

Yoshiki thought for a moment, looking back from where they had come from. The door near the Infirmary? He couldn't say he remembered it, but again, he was horrible at remembering places. **"Alright, that's a good starting point," **he said, starting to go back to the stairs. It was a long, horrible journey... They had to pass Mitsuki, the skeleton, and Emi. The worst was first, and he had been watching Ayumi all the way past her. She had kept herself from getting emotional, which came as a slight surprise to him. Though, even his calm pace was hard for himself to believe. Mitsuki had become a friend shockingly fast, but he guessed he had a lighter heart about it because he had gotten out his despair over it prior. The rest of the trip wasn't as difficult, but still not easy.

He was glad to make it back to the stairs, and the lighting they provided. He let out a sigh, starting to go up them warily, making sure no ghosts awaited him, or anything equally unexpected. With the area clear, he went up the rest of the stairs, approaching the door near the Infirmary, though his tiredness was recalled as he got a quick glance of the medical room, remembering the beds placed in there. _Nah, now isn't a good time... Actually, will there ever be a moment for sleep?_ he wondered, rubbing his head tiredly. He held the key up to the door, inserting it in. Well, it fit so far. He turned it, and a click sounded. He couldn't believe it... the first door had _worked_. Though, as he tried to turn the key back to retrieve it, it broke in the hole. _Oh well, it's not like it's needed anymore anyways_, he thought with a small shrug. He wrenched the door open, meeting little resistance. But a cold wind push through, chilling him. Man, of course this place would only get colder, not warmer. But, it was only a small inconvenience.**"Wow, it actually worked,"** he said aloud, smiling.

Ayumi felt herself wearing down from the journey over to the infirmary area. They had been at school late that day, to clean up the cultural festival stuff. Of course, they hadn't really gotten to any of that before she got everyone off topic with a scary story. It had been... around 7 or 7:30 that they had done the charm, a few minutes later, that's when everything came crashing down. How late was it now? Time was a forgotten factor in this place, with no clock, she couldn't come to a conclusion. It was late, at the very least she could tell that. She had managed to keep a straight face through the journey, despite those they had to pass. She just told herself to be better and braver, to not lose control of her emotions so easily.

She watched nervously as he slowly put the key in. When it slipped in and turned easily, she let out a breath of release. They were still in the game, thank god. The wind made her shiver a little bit, but her excitement at the not-dead-end made it easier to ignore. **"I can't belie-"** Ayumi started to say as she stepped into the room. The cold air hit her harder, her eyes widening as she felt... _something._


	9. Chapter 9

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

Some things in the original story line are drastically changed, otherwise it would mostly be a repeating of the game. If you see something different, or if an area is in the wrong place, you do not need to inform me.

UNDERLINED PARTS ARE PLACES WHERE THE STORY CAN DIVERGE INTO A WRONG END. READ WRONG ENDS IN AT THE SEPARATE STORY TITLED AS SUCH.

* * *

Ayumi's consciousness was being forced away. Her body was no longer her own, she noticed as she tried to scream out for help.

Ayumi's expression shifted, a crazy grin appearing on her face and her eyes widening, focusing on the floor. **"Ouuugggghhhhhh,"** she breathed in harshly, just like earlier. Suddenly, her voice erupted, _**"Bring me more! You'll do whatever I ask of you!**_ Her tone was violent, different than the one that had taken her over last time. _**"I don't care if you're innocent! You're listed as 'buried alive,' aren't you?! They're mine! I'm sure as hell not sharing them with the likes of you!**_ She paused, for just a moment. When she began speaking again, it wasn't as loud, but contained the same unbridled harshness. _**"Cleanup is a real pain in the ass, too, you know. Have some PITY!**_

Yoshiki was about to go in, following Ayumi, but then she instantly stopped, and his blood ran cold. _She can't be_- He flinched as she began yelling, her sentences detached and hard to understand. _No... not again_, now now.., he thought, the panic settling in as it had last time. He wanted to run, but he couldn't leave Ayumi to battle this by herself. It would be against his resolve, and he didn't want that ghost to be right. He took a deep breath in, going forward, grabbing her arm and tugging her back. **"A-Ayumi! Snap out of it!"** he shouted, then thought back on what the ghost said. Be careful of her... because of dangerous spirits... So... she was possessed? Then... **"Fight it back! I know you're there, Ayumi!"**

Ayumi's eyes moved off the ground, her wide-eyed stare focusing on Yoshiki when he grabbed her. **"Who... are you?"** she questioned, suddenly her arm lashed forward and striked his face with a force that Ayumi wouldn't have seemed physically capable of._**"I believed in you! Why doesn't anybody listen to me!?**_ She stood there, staring at him with sightless eyes. Her expression shifted ever so slightly, becoming more deranged. _**"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHHAHAHAHAHAH,"**_she laughed with cruelness.

Ayumi desperately tried grasping her own body. She tried to scream for help, she tried to move her arms and legs, but her body was moving on its own volition. Then, there was a pain radiating excruciatingly through her body. Her neck burned with a sharp pain as if a knife had been dragged slowly, carefully across it. Across her, she felt slow, methodical cuts that caused her entire body to burn in agony. She tried to scream, beg for Yoshiki's help, but she had no control over the new soul in her body.

Yoshiki was taken by surprise at her strike, stumbling backwards. _This can't seriously be Ayumi's real strength... So the ghost is controlling her physical abilities too?_ he thought wildly, instantly realizing this would be a lot harder than just telling her to snap out it. He rubbed his sore cheek, assuming the strength could have even surpassed normal human standards. Slaps usually only stung, but this felt more like a well-aimed punch from a body-builder. Still, he wouldn't be turned away by the fact he could be hurt more. It's was a little too crazy for his brain to process, but he didn't need to understand it to help Ayumi... But... what if he couldn't help her? No... he wouldn't accept that as a possibility. He wiped away his look of shock as he approached her once more, pulling her into a tight hug. **"Leave Ayumi alone, you bastards!"** he shouted, holding onto her tighter.

Ayumi's eyes widened as she was pulled into a tight hug. Her body burned and stung in agony as the cuts continued to be made across her skin. Then, she felt a pressure around her body. It was warm, in a way that the searing pain wasn't. Black faded into whiteness as her consciousness clashed with the possessors. Her eyes were hazy as the minds collided, one exiting, leaving Ayumi her body back. She blinked, slowly, confusion hitting her as she felt her arms and legs once again. **"...What... Where?"**She felt a surge of panic at the pressure around her. She pushed, suddenly. Her strength was noticeably less powerful, back to her typical state. She let out a few pants as she took a few steps back, noticing Yoshiki for the first time. _Huh? Was... he what pulled me out...?_ she wondered, holding a hand to her chest as she panted heavily. She looked down at her body, seeing all her skin intact. Though, the pain was still lingering in her mind.

Yoshiki held on until he felt a soft push. It was so different than the spirit's brute force, so he knew to obey and step away from her. When her eyes finally focused on him, he smiled, assured she was ok. **"It's okay, Ayumi. You're okay."** His look was sympathetic, showing his true concern for her well being and relief that she had fully recovered. But, how could he prevent that from ever happening to her again? It seemed so sudden, and that stone she picked up didn't seem to help with her possessions... Maybe it was something Ayumi would have to fight back herself... **"You...**_**are **_**okay, right?"** he asked, suddenly unsure.

Ayumi nodded softly at his question. **"I'll be fine,"** she replied. Her brain was lagging as it slowly became aware that she was indeed, okay. Still, she felt a lump in her throat that she was trying to fight away. The pain had been so real, so tangible that it was hard to believe it was... an illusion? She hadn't felt anything like that when she was possessed last time... She really didn't want this to keep happening, but she didn't know anything about possessions. She rubbed her hands together, the chill in the air soaked through to her bones. Her breaths were clearly visible in the dark room. **"I just need to..."** she mumbled, sliding down to the floor as her legs felt too weak to hold her up. Her hand went to her neck, touching the skin with her hands. _I'm okay, _she told herself. She just needed to catch her breath, then she'd be fine.

Her look gave Yoshiki a bad feeling, and he couldn't possibly believe her as she fell to her knees. He followed her down, staring tentatively at her. **"What... happened?"** he asked, figuring she had to be feeling the after effects from whatever was going on during the possession. Had it been like when he was having an illusion? Though, at that time, he didn't think he was possessed... That whole situation still wasn't clear to him... Ayumi didn't say anything about him chanting random stuff, only having a seizure of shorts. Their situations seemed completely unrelated, but he wouldn't rule it out. And if she had been through something similar, he could relate to the frighteningly realness of it all, which included the pain.

Ayumi looked at him uncertainly, since she wasn't wholly aware of the situation herself. She could, at the very least, try to give him some insight on her point of view.**"I... I suddenly just lost control of my body. I kept trying to move my arms or legs and I kept trying to scream for help but nothing happened,"** she began to explain, her voice tightening as she suppressed the urge to cry. **"Then, I felt searing pains all over my body... like a knife being dragged across my skin,"** she explained, finding it harder and harder to not tear up. The memory of the pain was still vivid in her mind, so life-like to what it must feel like. **"It... it really felt like it was happening. Like someone was cutting me up,"** she sniffled miserably. She hated this place so much.

Yoshiki grimace,d looking to the floor as he listened to her quivering voice. So... she did feel pain... but it sounded much more agonizing. He had only endured one hit, and he was saved before the real pain began, he felt. **"I'm... sorry I couldn't help you sooner,"** he muttered, feeling he had failed just by the prospect of her feeling anguish.**"But, I understand what you mean... My head hurt really bad in my own hallucination... I never gave a second thought to it being anything but reality. Though, you snapped me out of it before it got worse,"** he muttered, but still didn't expand on what all his illusion had included.

Ayumi looked concerned when he apologized, about to tell him he had nothing to say sorry about, but he continued speaking before she could. His next comment caught her attention. **"The ghosts in this place... are really messing with our heads,"** she realized with a downward look. She was susceptible to the ghosts too, it seemed. Yoshiki was only affected when he looked at one of the ghost children. She was in danger of a ghost taking over at any point, to her knowledge. Which meant Yoshiki was in danger just by being around her... she had no doubt that the ghosts were violent and prepared to kill. **"Yoshiki... if I get possessed again and you can't get me back easily, just run,"** she told him firmly.

Yoshiki remained silent, the image of the scissors frequently in his thoughts now. He could just imagine the cold steel boring into his eye, hitting the back of his skull with a sickening thud. He didn't like that he could imagine it... in fact, it almost made him sick... He had to hold his stomach for a second, squinting in discomfort. But, his head snapped up at her outrageous proposal, or at least, outrageous for him. He frowned and shook his head. **"No can do, Ayumi. You may be class Rep, but I couldn't follow that instruction,"** he told her, equally as adamant, **"I won't stop trying to get you back just because it's dangerous, and... failure isn't an option for me."** _Not when your life is in the question..._ If he lost her to these ghosts, he wouldn't be able to carry on, let alone desert her.

Ayumi pouted slightly as his rejection to follow her instructions, and mention that her class status would not change the situation. Mostly because, she was going to play that card next. She smiled lightly, a weird type of relief hit her as he declared he'd keep trying to get her back from any possession. Still, it was unnerving for her that he would be willing to put himself on the line for her. She sighed at him, shaking her head lightly. **"I don't like it when people go out of their way for me,"** she mumbled in a hushed tone. That was something she felt back in their dimension, too. She always tried to avoid letting others put themselves out for her sake. But, she also knew Yoshiki was stubborn as all hell and trying to talk him into it would be a waste of time. She pulled out her power stone, which had been no help from the possessing spirit. Still, her sister always spoke so highly of them. She held it out to Yoshiki with a determined expression. **"If you are going to continue being stupid, at the very least, take this,"** she told him. She really did want him to just accept it. So, she could feel like she may be protecting him, as he was continually protected her.

Yoshiki gave a light-hearted smile, despite her mumble. It didn't matter if she didn't like it, he would always be there, perhaps even give his life for hers... Well, then again... in this place, dooming himself might doom Ayumi too, where their mental states weren't the best. He knew for sure he wouldn't be able to go on while Ayumi had died, even though he was the one who talked about not giving up. Just the thought of losing her made his legs weak, so maybe she'd feel the same, in a close friend way. He looked to her as she gave him the crystal, about to protest, but decided he'd take it without complaints. He took it, giving a small laugh. **"I'll probably need it then,"** he commented, fully expecting himself to make many more rushed stupid decisions in the future.

Ayumi smiled brightly, feeling genuinely better that he had it. It would protect him if he encountered a ghost. At least, that's what she was counting on. She felt a little better after the break. The pain could still be recalled but the hairs on her arms weren't sticking up like needles anymore. She slowly got back up, her legs protesting against the movement. She really wasn't an athletic person, and now she was regretting that.**"Well, we finally were able to get into a new room. I wonder why it was locked in the first place, though,"** Ayumi said thoughtfully. Maybe the ghosts had set it up... but the way the key was found in the infirmary... maybe another person who was here locked this area off. What for? It could be because of the spirit that possessed her, maybe? Well, either way, they had no option but to march on.

Yoshiki stood as well, though he had kind of wanted to pretend to be a gentleman and help her up. Oh well, it wouldn't have made the impression he wanted anyways. He looked about the room, having to forget how cold it was now that the excitement was over. **"I guess it's because it leads to another hall, and another whole section we haven't seen. There could be a lot of important stuff past this room,"** he mentioned, resisting the urge to rub some heat into his arms. Aah, couples always looked really warm, sharing scarves and cuddling close... How embarrassing... A light blush spread across his cheeks, just thinking about it.

**"I certainly hope that's the case,"** Ayumi said, staring at the door intently. She was hoping to run into another person soon, since she was beginning to question how many people were actually in this specific closed space. She rubbed her hands together, just noticing how numb they were feeling. The room actually felt a bit like a refrigerator, which was curious. Why would this room become so much colder? Maybe there was a busted window down the next hall? She certainly hoped so, maybe she could catch some rain and drink it. Still, she hoped this was the coldest it would get in this place. Her legs were completely exposed, a skirt didn't provide much in the ways of warmth. At least she had a long sleeve shirt on, she told herself as she suppressed a shiver.

Yoshiki noticed her shivers. He didn't have a scarf, which would've been pretty nice, but he did have a coat. It was true he was cold too, but he had two long sleeve shirts, and pants. Ayumi only hand one sweater top, and her legs were quite... exposed... With a sigh, he removed his jacket, holding it in her direction. **"Here,"** he said, looking slightly to the side. Without giving her chance to oppose, he tossed it in her direction, continuing through the classroom. It was generally empty, but the door on the other side of the room was opened easily, and led to a hall that was foreign to them. Good, new area, more chances to find something that would help. He walked into a main hall, where the hallways split off in three directions. One hall led only to two double doors that resembled that of a place leading into the room where the shoe lockers would normally be, and the other two were just average halls.

Ayumi looked at Yoshiki in surprise at his offering. Her face reddened a little, about to protest, but it was tossed into her arms too quickly. She looked at it, deciding she wouldn't argue with him because it was freezing and she could feel warmth radiating off the jacket anyway. She slid it on quietly, her face deepening in color. It was a very... couple-y type thing to do... she could just remember time and time again when she saw girl's wearing their boyfriends jackets. **"Thanks,"** she muttered, slightly embarrassed. It was hard to push off her mind, since she could still feel his warmth in the fabric, along with his smell. She pulled her mind off the jacket when they approached the branching paths. She tilted her head, trying to figure out which one would be best to check out first. Probably the double-door hallway, considering it would probably have the least amount of areas to check. The other hallways may end up leading them to even more paths.

Yoshiki felt the same way, going towards the doors and jerking them open, revealing exactly what he had expected; the shoe locker area, where the entrance was also. It was too good to be true... or trusted. Such a simple entrance... and the room hadn't even been locked. There was no way other students hadn't found their way here, yet no one has ever escaped. So, the front door probably wasn't going to work, but he could still try. He went forward, grabbing the handles and attempting to pull it open, but no budge, like the other doors that seemed almost painted to the walls. **"Of course,"** he said with a sigh, stepping back. He turned, giving the room a quick glance,**"Any papers around here?"**

Ayumi wandered around, poking around anywhere she could to find something. She didn't want to miss something necessary because she overlooked something. **"I'm not finding anything,"** she admitted with a small frown. Suddenly, a little blue flame seemed to form in the corner of the room by her. She titled her head, feeling no ill will from it. **"Oh, hello,"** she greeted as she approached it. She felt a little rude, but she wasn't sure if this was the soul they had met before. The soul seemed content to be quiet, making Ayumi wonder if it was even going to speak. _"Hello,"_ it said in a pitiful voice. Ayumi could tell right away it was a different soul, with a lower pitch voice. She waited for it to say _something._ It seemed content just floating there, watching them? She wasn't really sure if they could see...

Yoshiki noticed the small blue orb as well, but it didn't stand out as much in the lit room as opposed to the dark. He approached with his hands in his pockets, looking at the spirit with curiosity. **"Hey... not to be rude or anything, but could you give us some information?"** he asked straight up, then thought to give it what they already knew, **"Except for the fact that getting out and meeting others is close to impossible."** The spirit remained contently quiet, and Yoshiki was about to get frustrated with it. He didn't particularly like being ignored, especially when- _"You two... want to know more of the curse?"_ it asked pitifully.

Ayumi nodded firmly. **"Yes, we would, please,"** she asked politely, her tone edging towards a plea. This ghost seemed much more quiet than the last one, and she couldn't help but worry it would just disappear on them. There was another long pause, which Ayumi just waited to pass patiently. _"When you die here... your spirit doesn't move on,"_ it told them sadly. _"Though... i'm sure you've gathered that by now,"_it said in a neutral tone. It paused again. Ayumi felt a little more annoyed, since time was pretty precious in this place. _"When you die... you feel it... for eternity,"_ it stated in a meek voice. Ayumi froze, her eyes widening. Her brain paused, trying to truly understand what the soul was saying. **"W-wait, so... if someone dies from, say, starvation?"** For the first time, the soul answered right away. _"Then you will never feel anything else but starvation."_

Yoshiki felt his blood run cold when the spirit finally answered. They... felt the agony of death forever? So... even a swift death wasn't a release, but rather even more agonizing? Then... what about... Mitsuki? She was... suffering? Her spirit right now was feeling every inch of her body being torn and blown into pieces?... He held onto his stomach, instantly feeling sick again. **"For eternity...?"** he repeated, just staring in horror at the spirit. _"Yes... no relief... it... hurts... so much..."_ The voices anguish gave him pain in his heart, but not for the spirit, for Mitsuki... He couldn't let Ayumi face the same fate... It only gave him more drive to protect her.

Ayumi took a sharp breath, covering her mouth with her hands to fight back the urge to puke. Nausea hit her violently when her mind flashed back to the wall, the sprayed blood and scrambled intestines. Mitsuki would only feel that for an eternity? No relief? Nothing they could do? The guilt of being unable to save her came swinging back, knocking the wind out of her. That goddamn doll did nothing but anger the ghosts! Then... they killed her, for no good reason. Mitsuki wasn't the one who cut their tongues out and murdered them. She was innocent... as were they. **"Is- is that all you have to say?"** Ayumi asked, her voice muffled from her hands. The soul took another damn long pause, and Ayumi wished she could hit it. _"I doubt I have anything else of use for you,"_ it said pitifully. Ayumi's heart went out for the tortured spirit, it really did, but she had to get away from it. She turned heel, exiting the front area back into the hallway. She leaned against the wall, panting heavily as she realized she was really going to throw up. None of them deserved this fate! Eternal hell! Death wasn't even a release! It was just a new beginning to unspeakable pain.

Yoshiki didn't hesitate in following her out, face toward her, but having nothing to say to her. After all, he felt like he had the same feeling as her. And if he couldn't ease his own worries, he couldn't hope to ease her own soul. But, he was certain he wouldn't let her fall into the ghost's cold grip... He looked at her, a spark of purpose in his eyes.**"Ayumi... I won't let that happen to you. **_**Ever**_**,"** he said boldly, his mind shocked he had said that aloud. There was no reason to comfort her about Mitsuki... It was too much of a depressing thing to think about. Instead, he wanted to focus on the future, and his even stronger desire to find a way out.

Ayumi swallowed heavily, the nausea seemingly passing. She had almost been sure she would puke... but her stomach was pretty much empty at this point so there wasn't much to come up. She looked up slowly, staring at Yoshiki as he made a promise to keep her alive. She suddenly moved off the wall to bury her head in Yoshiki's chest. She found her mind running blank on words, but running miles a minute on emotions. She just couldn't understand why Yoshiki was being so good to her, so willing to protect her. She genuinely believed his words, knowing they weren't superficial to just calm her down from the moment. He meant them. **"Thank you,"** she finally was able to muster her voice to give a mumbling bit of gratitude.

Yoshiki was still not used to her being so clingy, and now that he wasn't over filled with awful, pent up emotions, his heart could fully burst with the contact. His cheeks flared as his arms slowly held her, but he was unsure of his own actions. His mind was so scrambled and dizzy, feeling that if it was possible, he'd die right then and there from a heart attack. Still, he had to get his mind straight, so she didn't see him like this. **"I **_**promise**_**,"** he added, tightening his grip on her. He couldn't even process what he was doing. Hugging Ayumi like this so tightly... He had done it twice before, but he hadn't really been thinking about the action those times. Now he had his whole attention on it, and it was breaking his mind with giddy clueless-ness.

Ayumi felt comfort, a feeling that was so fleeting in this awful place she refused to just let it go by quickly. He was so warm, she kept thinking to herself. She shut her eyes as his grip tightened, bringing her closer into him. She had always been so afraid of contact... especially with boys, but this was nice. Her cheeks were flushed by his promise. **"And, I promise to protect you too,"** she added, her voice muffled by his shirt. Her tone held sincerity and a raw determination. They would be fine in this awful place, as long as they stuck together. They had made it this far, right? She had no intention of losing him to this School, they would make it back home. Things will eventually be normal again, they just had to keep fighting through this hell.

Yoshiki felt her huddle closer to him, his heart becoming uncontrollably fast paced. Though, he next words distracted him from the moment, her warmth. He recalled the stone she had given him, and how she rescued him from his first run in with the ghost child. As long as they kept this up... helping each other as they needed it... they could get through, he was sure of it. Once he was certain his cheeks had returned to normal, or at least were a less noticeable shade of red, he pulled away from her, his still determined expression present. **"We'll find the rest, and an exit. I have no doubt," **he said after a short pause. With both promises ringing the truth, they couldn't fail.

Ayumi took a step back, allowing the hug to break up. She was sure her face was red because of the contact. She smiled at him, nodding in agreement. **"Definitely,"** she said, her will feeling refreshed. She paused, realizing they had to really keep moving on. **"I guess we should head back and just go down one of the hallways,"** she said, beginning to walk. The grinds of digging around rooms were starting to get a little tedious, though, honestly. It had been a while since they found any new information on the killings. Geeze, she really missed her computer. A quick search, and most the questions would probably be answered on the first page. Or, if only she could talk to her sister. She would definitely know what to do in these type of paranormal situations. They came back to the fork of hallways, Ayumi just chooses to walk down one of the longer hallways since they both looked the same and both were equally unexplored.

Yoshiki felt overwhelmed by her own red face. God, she was adorable... Erm, but... this wasn't really the place to think about it. He nodded to agree, carrying on through the halls. They had traversed so many hardships. He could tell they would make it... he had no doubt. They stopped at the crossroads yet again, glancing down both of the halls. Both held possibilities, and probably more rooms to search. But hopefully, they come up with something this time. He sighed, placing his hands on his side. **"I'm getting tired of deciding which hallway is best,"** he said with a huff.

Ayumi looked at him, surprised with his sudden complaint. She couldn't help but laugh. **"**_**That's **_**what you're getting tired of?"** she asked, since the complaint seemed a bit trivial. But, she was getting tired of just walking around the barren school in general. She'd indulge his comment, since she hadn't realize she was leaving the direction-decisions solely to him. She looked down both hallways, both of them were seemingly the same... so she just walked down the left one. **"My Elementary school was definitely not this big,"** she commented, as the made their way down the hall. Heavenly Host kept getting bigger and bigger too, with every discovery they make.

Yoshiki smiled slightly at her laugh, realizing his complaint was a little silly compared to the rest of the stuff he could be tired of, but he guessed it just came to mind at the moment. **"That, among other things,"** he added, laughing slightly. He shoved his hands into his pockets before he began to follow her, his eyes wondering about walls, floor, and doors ahead. **"I don't really remember it,"** he spoke idly. Even then, he skipped, especially in his middle school years, **"But this school **_**is **_**unnaturally big, even if it had been a high school."**

**"It must have had a lot of students,"**Ayumi commented, her mind going back to each classroom. They had been a pretty typical size, so perhaps it was a building choice. Have more room so classes didn't get too big? No matter the reason, Ayumi just wished it was smaller. She was getting sick of exploring... still, if they hadn't found new areas, they would've just had to keep backtracking which would've been annoying as well.

Her thoughts cut off as she took a step forward. She looked around, suddenly her brain was rushing to catch up with an entirely new area. She gasped, looking around in panic. It was an open room, unlike the hallway she had just been in. More importantly, she couldn't see Yoshiki. **"Yoshiki!"** she yelled, her heart sinking. How did they split up? She couldn't remember... her mind drew blank, causing her to panic. _Oh god,_ she thought, wheezing. Where did Yoshiki go? How did they even separate!? Things wouldn't be okay if they couldn't find each other. She didn't even know where she was, the area was completely foreign from the hallways and rooms they had checked earlier.

Yoshiki nodded, then his mind wondered. Lotsa kids, huh? For the school to be this huge, there was probably an army of students. Well, while the large ground to cover was a little tiresome, it gave endless possibility for finding something new, useful, or someone else stuck in this place, maybe even their friends. Even though he envied Satoshi for every attribute he didn't have, he'd like to see him. After all, they were pretty much best friends... Actually, he didn't know why Satoshi was such a close friend to him. Maybe he liked to be messed with? He knew that he liked to mess with him. It was fun, and got out passive aggression.

Before he knew it, he blacked out for a single second, and looked around. It was pitch black, but his eyes were adjusted, like he had been walking in this light for a while._Wh... what the?_ he thought, his heart racing. He looked in all directions, yet Ayumi was no where to be seen.**"AYUMI!"** he screamed out, but all he heard was his own voice echoing down the halls. **"No... this can't... be...,"** he muttered, stumbling backwards, **"AAAAYUUUUMIIII!"**


	10. Chapter 10

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, Kensuke, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

Some things in the original story line are drastically changed, otherwise it would mostly be a repeating of the game. If you see something different, or if an area is in the wrong place, you do not need to inform me.

* * *

Yuuya looked down at his 'friend', examining the way his body was twisted and his face gave clue to the anguish he felt. He smiled at the sight, feeling an absolute rush from what he had accomplished. He fingered the hilt of the knife he had in his school coat pocket, feeling the urge to cut something else with it... Tear it to shreds. His shoulders shuddered as he quietly chuckled, imagining the rest of his classmate's falling to his hands. They'd die anyways, right? **"Fufufu..."**Then, a voice could be heard down the hall, causing him to snap out of his quiet laughter. It didn't sound like anyone he knew, but that meant nothing. Besides, his curiosity was rising, especially since it sounded like a girl.

He examined himself before following the voice, noticing his coat was blood spattered. He slipped out of it, casually tossing it across his shoulder, in a way that wouldn't attract any special attention. He went down the hall, his look taking a concerned expression as he approached a door. He peered inside, catching sight of a girl, maybe about his age, with black hair, tied in twin tails. _How adorable_, he mused, but didn't break his look of concern. **"Hello? Are you ok?"** he asked, stepping all the way into the room. Her uniform was different than his schools, so he knew she wasn't anyone that would know him, but something was off... That jacket she wore seemed too big for her, and also looked like it was made to fit the frame of a boy. How interesting...

Ayumi felt close to crying as she realized Yoshiki was nowhere in hearing distance. She stared at the ground, finding her brain becoming muddled as she tried to figure out what to do. Then she heard a voice that almost made her jump out of her skin. She could tell right away it wasn't Yoshiki or anyone else she knew, which was pretty disappointing. She turned around to see a very tall, built guy who she had definitely never seen at her High School before. Perhaps he had been one of the ones with Mitsuki? He wore a look of concern that calmed her down very slightly. **"Hello,"** she answered, relieved to find another person. **"I'm okay... but I just lost someone,"** she explained, eyes unable to center on one location in the room. She had just been able to build up her confidence, now without Yoshiki, she felt like she was at square one.

Yuuya came closer, finally getting a good look at her. She was definitely a stranger, and the name on the ID of her jacket probably wasn't her own. The name didn't fit a girl, so it was probably the jacket of the person she was talking about. **"I'm... sorry..,"** he mumbled, look turning somewhat remorseful. **"I have too... My friend disappeared not too long ago... I was going to start looking for him, when I heard you,"** he explained, but then smiled slightly, **"Maybe we could look for them together... This place is very dangerous when you're by yourself, I've gathered."** In fact, he was looking for his friend... He had yet to find Kurosaki, who was next on his list. He could take care of him eventually, and then this girl... But keeping her around right now seemed a good idea. Plus, it was always a lot more fun to see the betrayal in their eyes. That kind of pain couldn't be achieved by killing them on the spot. **"I know we just met, but... traversing this place by yourself is bound to be a lot more risky,"** he mentioned, placing a hand on his side.

Ayumi watched him silently, what he was saying made sense. Plus, she had no idea where she was now... and she really didn't like to be alone in this place. **"That sounds like a good idea,"** Ayumi smiled politely. This guy seemed pretty nice, and he definitely seemed to have himself together. Still, she just found herself wishing for Yoshiki's company again. She couldn't feel safe in this place otherwise. **"I'm Shinozaki Ayumi,"** she introduced herself formally. Her eyes glanced down at his uniform, not sure if they were a male's match to Mitsuki. **"You wouldn't happen to go to Byakudan Senior High School, would you?"** Ayumi asked, curiosity winning her over. Although, she realized now that she had brought it up, she may have to deliver the news of her death to a classmate. The thought burnt a hole in her stomach, her mind going back to the wall once again.

Yuuya smiled as she agreed. She must have not found him threatening. That was good. After all, he had perfected his illusion of normalcy for years upon years. It'd be strange if it didn't work on a girl in distress.** "I'm Kizami Yuuya,"** he replied,** "It's a pleasure to meet you, Shinozaki."** He blinked at her question, a little surprised she knew the uniform for his school. Her's definitely didn't ring a bell... Was there another school with uniforms like these around his town that he was unaware of? **"Uh, yeah. How did you know?"** he asked curiously. No... there wasn't another school close enough for her to know about the uniforms. Then maybe she met one of his classmates before him? If so, then where were they now?

Ayumi glanced aside, a little annoyed with herself that she mentioned it. Still, he had a right to know what happened to his friends... even if the news was awful. **"My friend and I met a girl named Yamamoto Mitsuki who said she went there,"** Ayumi explained. She sighed painfully, making eye contact with Yuuya. She knew he would ask this question, so she figured she'd just explain it right away. **"The reason I'm not with her anymore is because... the ghosts killed her,"** she said, her tone switching to depressed and upset. She felt the presence of guilt on her shoulders, her mind flickering to images of the creepy doll and the bloody wall. What a horrible set of events that happened because of such cruel spirits. **"I'm so sorry,"** she said quietly, her eyes falling down to the floor once again in grief.

Yuuya remained silent, just staring at her. The ghosts had killed Mitsuki? His look darkened as he looked to the ground. **"I... see..,"** he muttered. _They beat me to her... those crafty bastards._ He had been looking forward to her demise, but not by this school's means. He had wanted to be the one to tear into her flesh, see what made her tick... hear her screams. Well, he wasn't too upset about her. But if these ghosts thought they could kill Kurosaki before him, they were wrong. He wanted to see that light drain from his so called best friend's eyes himself. **"But... I can't be dragged down,"** he said firmly, closing his eyes before looking back up, determined,** "There's... nothing I can do... If I just mope about it, I'll have no chance of getting past here."**

Ayumi smiled weakly, see a pattern in this group of students. They were really strong when it came to getting by. **"Mitsuki felt the same way-"** Ayumi cut herself off, feeling another stab of awfulness when she realized another of his classmates had died. **"Also... when we were Mitsuki... we found.. Emi was what Mitsuki called her. She's dead, as well,"** Ayumi explained guiltily. Still, she didn't want to keep anything from him, since she found honesty was always best. Still, she had just delivered the news that two of his classmates had died. She had no idea how Emi had died, since she never really took the time to examine the rotting body. **"I'm sorry for all the bad news,"** she said again. She wasn't sure if she could handle news about her classmate's death...

Yuuya kept his determined look, despite the terrible news. **"... This place's goal is probably to drive one mad... but I'll keep moving. They wouldn't want me to join them,"** he said, though... in reality, he remembered Emi. Remembered stabbing her under the rib cage, hearing her screams of pain and terror... and then, kicking her down one of the many holes in the school floor. That was in the main building, and hadn't been too long ago. Aaahh, good times... He then got a sympathetic smile, looking at Ayumi with truth in his eyes. **"I haven't ran into anyone with your uniform,"** he told her, to give her some sort of comfort that, at least, he hadn't seen any of her friends dead. Then again, it also meant he hadn't seen them alive, so his words could be taken either way.

Ayumi had to admire Yuuya for his composure. Yet, at the same time she had to wonder if he was just repressing feelings as Yoshiki had done. Still, letting yourself have a meltdown here was dangerous in many ways, so she could understand trying to push off the bad feelings to be dealt with back at home. She brightened a little at the mention of seeing none of her friends... because it was better news than hearing they were dead. At this point, Ayumi was pretty safe to bet that Mochida and the others were probably in other closed spaces... Ayumi nodded to indicate she had heard his news, or lack thereof. **"I guess we should start looking now?"** she questioned, feeling like they had been standing around for a while. The room they were in was darker, so for her own comfort, she pulled out a candle and lit it.

Yuuya watched her expression ease. Good, he had helped calm her down. **"Hm, yeah, that's the correct option right now,"** he said without complaints, keeping a hand on his side while the other held onto his jacket. He then watched her light a candle, finding this random object this Ayumi had very useful. **"Whoa, do you just carry those around? How many do you have?"** he asked curiously. What a rare find! A girl who was actually useful and not just a hindrance! He backed out of the room, keeping his eyes on her as he waited for her to follow him out, wondering where they'd start all the while. There were a lot of places in this second wing that he was unfamiliar with, and it was probably the same for this girl.

Ayumi followed him out of the room, her expression satisfied at his amazement of her candles. It was good to not feel like a burden, and being able to see in dark corridors was definitely helpful. **"Yep, I always carry a lot of candles. Back at home, I always wanted to make sure I had them when it was time to tell a scary story," **she explained fondly. She looked at the little flame, memory after memory flooding her mind from them. The satisfaction of scaring the group, how Mochida always had the best reactions, how she would gather another person to help her really scare people when given the chance, and just all the good times she genuinely had with her friends. **"I've been leaving some around the rooms I've been visiting, actually,"** she mentioned. It was the infirmary and different spots in hallways she had placed them in previously. She stopped, an idea coming quickly. **"Ah, sorry, hold on,"** she asked. She pulled out another candle, heating the bottom so the wax would stick to the floor. She then lit the top of the new candle and placed it on the floor. She quickly got back up and went to Yuuya's side. **"My classmates can recognize them... so if Yoshiki comes across it, he'll know I'm okay,"** she explained with a sheepish smile.

Yuuya gave a small smile, thankful for her weird interest in storytelling. It was really weird to run into a girl with such a rare hobby, but it only made him fee luckier.** "They **_**are**_** a great beacon,"** he commented, **"Especially if your friends can recognize them."** He smiled to her, before carrying on down the hall, his overall demeanor cool and calm. This 'Yoshiki'... It'd be fun to kill him, too, if he wasn't already dead by the time he met him. **"This school is annoyingly huge... It's hard to believe an Elementary school would need a three floor building with two wings...,"** he said with a sigh, reflecting on how long he had been journeying down these halls.

Ayumi frowned, looking down thoughtfully. That was exactly what her and Yoshiki were talking about until... the black out? She still wasn't sure how she lost him... but she was determined to reunite with him. She had made a promise to him, after all. **"Yeah... it feels like it's never ending..."** she sighed meekly. Honestly, how many halls had she traversed? It was getting annoying how many areas kept opening up. Hopefully this second building was smaller. **"So, have you encountered the ghost children?"** she asked curiously. Her knowledge on the ghosts was still scrambled and trying to figure out the story was proving to be complicated. She hadn't realized the teacher's death from falling down the stairs had given way to kidnappings and murders, which would close down the school. The principal had supposedly killed himself, unable to handle the school's closure. _I wonder if the principal's soul is trapped here as well._ she wondered to herself. Maybe it would be worth trying to find his office for more information...

Yuuya pondered on her question. **"Ghost children?"** he repeated, pondering on it. He had seen blue forms of three kids who were wondering these halls, some of which looking for blood. He nodded. **"Yeah, three, two girls and a boy,"** he finally answered, pausing to see if she wanted more information on them. Or at least, what he had found out with articles and basic examination, **"I guess you've seen them too? They're grotesque to say the least... You have to feel sorry for them, at least slightly."**

**"Yeah, I've seen them,"** Ayumi replied with an edge of anger in her voice. His sympathy for them was admirable, and she could completely understand it. When she was reading those articles, she felt the very same sympathy. They shouldn't have had to go through that pain. **"But, it's hard to feel sorry for them when they keep killing innocent people,"** she said with a dark expression. The bloody wall. She wondered how many of the bodies around this school were because of the cruel, blood-thirsty children. Mitsuki had nothing to do with how those children died, yet she suffered horrible. _Is_ suffering horribly. **"Murder doesn't accomplish anything... it doesn't right the wrongs done to you,"** she said, frowning. The children shouldn't be doing what they are doing, she truly believed that. But, if Ayumi could help the children move on in life, she would, even with the bitterness of Mitsuki's death fresh in her mind... she'd like to do anything to prevent more deaths.

Yuuya went silent, looking ahead pensively. **"Well... that may be true, but..,"** he paused, looking over at her straight in the eyes, **"... I'd find it hard to believe that the children's mental state is still intact, after the suffering they went through."** The boy had his tongue ripped from him, and his intestines were dug out while he was still alive. The youngest girl had half of her head removed, along with her tongue afterword. The third girl had her eye pulverized. While all of these heinous acts had been committed while they were still alive, their minds were probably tormented with so many different afflicting thoughts.

Ayumi looked at Yuuya curiously, surprised that he seemed to sympathize with the children so much. **"That's true..."** she agreed, looking at the walls. **"I wonder if it's their suffering that has created this plane..."** she wondered aloud. Her sister... mentioned something along those lines to her before in their many random conversations. **"Their hate and anguish creating this school... and taking in more students, whose agony will only add to it,"** she said softly. It made sense... a lot of paranormal events can be traced back to humans' souls and what happened during their death. Also, it meant the more students that came into this place would just fuel the fire. That may be the reason for the closed spaces... it has grown and needed to expand. Of course, this was all speculation on her part. Still, from what she gathered... she probably wasn't too off. She sighed once again, pulling Yoshiki's jacket tighter against her to replicate some form of comfort while he wasn't physically there.

Yuuya shrugged. He had no input on the whole thing about the planes. It confused him too much. But what Ayumi was saying made sense. **"That sounds pretty possible, actually,"** he commented, continuing walking. He made sure to turn right at the next hall split, avoiding his own work. As much as he'd like to see the reaction Ayumi provided at his work, he wasn't up for giving fake remorse too much so soon. **"Does that mean it would be possible to right the wrongs ourselves?"** he wondered aloud, even though his intentions were much more unjust.

Ayumi paused before answering, thoroughly considering his question. **"Well, possibly, it could happen..."** she said, her tone uncertain. **"Naho... ah, she's a ghost that's in here. Well, she was a paranormal investigator when she was alive and she was telling us about how if the ghosts got repentance from their killer, they could finally move on."** As Ayumi spoke, she realized that appeasing the children may actually be the key to getting out of here. If the ghosts were able to move on, the closed spots would collapse in on themselves, right? They seemed to be the driving forces... If all the areas were wiped out, they would all return home. Still... that was questionable at best. **"We tried to appease them with the killer's doll that kept saying sorry... but it just made them angry."** So, even if she had this idea, she wasn't sure if it could even be done. **"The teacher that killed them needs to repent... but apparently, according to Naho, he isn't even capable of speaking..."** she frowned. The plan sounded good in her head, but she slowly realized it was just an end result in mind... she had no realistic plan to actually accomplish it.

Yuuya was at a loss, just as Ayumi was. **"So... basically, there's no way to give them their killer's repentance?"** he asked, rubbing the back of his head with slight frustration. But in his head, he was laughing. Stuck here forever... That gave his mind even more right to kill people. They were never getting out... Better have a swift death, right? And eventually, this girl would fall to his blade as well.

Ayumi looked down, crestfallen as she heard him say what she was thinking. She had to keep her spirits up, though. Just because they didn't know exactly how to fix it didn't mean there wasn't a way. They would find everyone and get out of here, that's what they told each other. **"Not a way we know, but I'm going to figure this out,"** Ayumi said firmly. She wasn't ready to die. She had hardly done anything... a first kiss... none of her illustrations had been published... she felt too unprepared to die.** "There has to be something we're missing."** She looked thoughtfully down the hall.** "Do you know where the Principal's office is?"** she asked, figuring it had more of a chance of giving her information than a typical classroom. Although... she really did want to find Yoshiki first, she had no clue where he was... if only they had agreed to set up a room to go back to in case of this! She felt frustration at herself for their deep, deep lack of planning.

**"That's a good resolution,"** Yuuya mentioned, smiling at her strong determination._ However, you won't live long enough to fulfill your purpose... maybe you won't even see this friend of yours, either... It all depends on when I find Kurosaki. No matter when your friend shows up... I may just kill you in front of him... Wouldn't that be fun?_ he thought maniacally. He thought back at all the places he visited, but shook his head. **"No... but I haven't explored much of this wing. It's very possible that it could be somewhere around here,"** he said, his voice and expression charismatic.

**"Right, I guess we'll just keep on as we have,"** Ayumi said. It wouldn't be hard to differentiate the principal's office from the classrooms... It would probably be on the third floor, but they shouldn't just skip around. Being thorough was important. **"So, which of your friends did you get separated from?"** Ayumi asked, feeling uncomfortable in the silence. The hallways were so dreary and dark. She hated only being able to see only so far in front of her, the fear of falling down a hole was always at the edge of her mind. How many people came in with Mitsuki, she wondered to herself. Emi and Mitsuki were dead... it made her wonder about her own classmates. Could she be passing them or their dead bodies in the hall without realizing it? These damned closed spots made everything so much more complicated... she just wanted to see Yoshiki and the others.

Yuuya nodded, carrying on down the hall and eyeing signs above the doors as they came into views. So far, they were just classes. **"A guy named Kurosaki Kensuke, one I'd consider my best friend."** _Sort of... That's more of an illusion that guy came up with himself. But I'll use it, to humor him._ To him see him die before him... That's what he wanted more than anything else. He wouldn't die until Kurosaki was taken care of, permanently. **"What about your friend?"** he asked curiously, wanting to get to know this guy more, and maybe so he could know what he was looking for.

**"His name is Kishinuma Yoshiki,"** Ayumi answered, feeling a bit of a pang of _something_ inside her. She really missed him already, but she had no idea how to find him... what if it was impossible to meet up again? She had to push the thought from her mind; she couldn't house such a thought for long. **"He's a classmate and a friend,"** she explained, figuring she should make it clear he wasn't her boyfriend. Sure, she was wearing his coat, but that was a nice platonic gesture from him to her. He was just a friend, probably one of her best friends now that she really thought about it. The thought just made her more miserable about his absence.

Yuuya nodded, smiling. **"We'll find him, I'm sure of it,"** he said warmly. As they continued, they made it to the third floor, and it did indeed hold the principal's office. He tried the door, and it was surprisingly unlocked. He opened it, looking around inside. **"So, uh, why did you want in here so bad?"** he asked her, surprised that this room, out of the whole second wing, was the only one lit.

**"I think it may... have some something of note,"** Ayumi explained as she entered the room. Since it was lit, she rested the candle on a table to have free use of her hands. She walked over to the principal's desk, noting the charms plastered all over the walls behind the desk. _How weird,_ she thought. The man had been troubled, though... he had jumped off this building to his death when he found out the school would be closing. She tilted her head as she opened a drawer, seeing a VCR tape sitting in it. **"Huh?"** she questioned, picking it up. **"A VCR... too bad there are no TVs around here,"** she mused, wondering if it was worth taking. She put the VCR on top of the desk and continued to dig around. She frowned as she dug around for articles or something of note... She tugged out a plain piece of paper that looked torn out of a book. There was only a line of scribbled notes. **"His family is just as guilty as he is. I'm going to curse the entire line, forever. I'll burn some sense right into their brains,"** Ayumi read clearly. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the note in confusion.

Yuuya followed her in, leaning against the desk as she searched. The VCR tape was a little strange to find in the desk, but any new finding was probably going to prove useful. He watched as she read what the paper said, his brows furrowing. **"What does that mean? Did the principal do something too? Or is it something the principal wrote?"** he asked aloud, to see if Ayumi had the slightest clue as to what it meant.

Ayumi blinked slowly at the paper, putting it down on the desk. **"I'm... not sure,"** she admitted. **"In the stories I was told... the Principal killed himself because the school was closing down and it was like a child to him. But... with the more stuff I find in here, I don't think the stories I was told were one hundred percent accurate."** She examined the handwriting on the paper. **"The handwriting looks kinda feminine... but, it could be his."** She walked back around the desk trying to find something with his handwriting on it. **"If it was sent to him or something... what could he be guilty of?"** she questioned allowed, trying to yank open a drawer. _Huh... this one is locked..._ she realized with a glare at it. She'd have to find its key... or another nail puller to yank the drawer open.

Yuuya went silent as she talked, pondering on all the information she was giving him. **"Certainly there's more stuff about this school, and principal, that we don't know,"**he noted, cupping his chin with his free head. But, he turned as he heard a familiar voice.

**"Hey! Is there anybody there?"** asked a voice, then another boy came in, his coat similar to the one thrown over Yuuya's shoulder. His panicked look then turned into relief, approaching the desk. **"Kizami! Thank God I found you!"**

**"Kurosaki!"** Yuuya greeted, a smile on his face. _I knew it wouldn't be long until I found you..._

Ayumi's head shot up when she heard another voice. She knew instantly it wasn't Yoshiki's but that didn't stop a stab of disappointment that it wasn't him. Still, it was good that Yuuya could find his classmate, more people being around was probably best. Although... even when it was the three of them, Mitsuki had disappeared and that resulted in her death. Ayumi watched the two reunite, feeling a bit jealous. She was thankful to be with people... but she really wanted to be with her own friends. She felt a little awkward, which was embarrassing since it shouldn't be an issue in a place like that. People were people... even if they were strangers; just being in Heavenly Host was enough to unite them, right?

**"Man, this place is really scary, especially when you're alone,"** Kensuke said with a sigh, rubbing the back of his head. For the first time, he noticed a strange girl behind the desk, giving her a sheepish smile. **"Oh, who's this?"**he asked, for whichever of them answered first.

**"This is Shinozaki Ayumi, from a different school,"**Yuuya introduced, gesturing towards her.

**"Hey, nice to meet you... Well, not really so nice in a place like this, but you know..,"** Kensuke said with a small laugh, but it died off,** "I'm Kurosaki Kensuke."**

Ayumi smiled lightly at him, understanding the roadblock when it came to proper introductions. **"It's nice to meet another living person,"** she said as she came out from behind the desk. She grabbed the VCR putting it inside the jacket Yoshiki gave her by slipping it in one of the internal pockets. She doubted it would be much help, but she couldn't ignore the idea of a TV, considering there are spots in the school with light. **"I don't think this room has much else for us,"** Ayumi told Yuuya. Well, there was the desk... she was determined to come back to it later. Still, she didn't have the capabilities to pick locks or break it open.

Kensuke agreed about finding other people. **"Right, there's little left for us here,"** Yuuya said, turning to leave, making sure to pick up the candle from the desk. Kensuke followed behind him. **"I guess we'll check the places we skipped."** **"Uhm, I checked them all on the first floor, but not the second," **Kensuke noted, making sure the two knew so they didn't waste their time going over rooms that were already covered. They went down the stairs and explored a few rooms, but the next they came to held a putrid smell. Yuuya frowned, and Kensuke looked disgusted. **"Whatever's in there smells awful...,"**Kensuke muttered, holding his arm over his nose and mouth.

Yuuya turned to Ayumi, handing her the candle. **"We'll check inside. You stay out here. Something really bad could be in there, and I'd rather spare you from seeing it,"** he told her with a gentle smile, **"Do you have any more candles?"** _Fufufufu... Kurosaki... enjoy these last moments... It's too bad I'll have to make quick work of you, though. I was hoping I'd get to play with you a little, but I can't let this girl getting suspicious of me just yet._

Ayumi was admittedly thankful to hear the entire first floor didn't have to be checked. She followed the boys silently, flinching when a disgustingly familiar smell hit her nose. Ayumi looked a little conflicted as she took back the candle, as if tempted to argue to go in with them. But, even the smell was making her stomach toss violently. She wanted to avoid hyperventilating as well, so she figured she'd take the offer to be spared the sight. They'd only be inside the room, nothing bad could happen that they wouldn't hear. **"Okay... thanks,"** she said, agreeing with arrangement. **"Yep, here," **Ayumi answered as she pulled out another. She used the flame from her candle to light the wick and held the candle out for Yuuya.

**"Thanks,"** Yuuya said, opening the door and stepping in. Kensuke turned to Ayumi, smiling as he put his arm down. **"We'll be right back. Shouldn't take long at all,"** he told her, going in and shutting the door behind him so the smell could be somewhat contained. He walked forward, examining anything he could. Yuuya followed silently behind him, to give him light. **"It's hard to believe you can't hardly find anything useful in this gigantic place..,"** Kensuke muttered with a sigh, looking under a desk. Yuuya gave a small noise of agreement. _Three. _**"I mean, really! Six different areas with, like, a hundred different rooms! And I could only find one lousy key!"** _Two._ Yuuya began to grin. **"Not to mention with no way to know if it's even useful!"** Kensuke continued to complain as he kept walking. _One._ Kensuke stopped his rant there, ending it with a frustrated huff. _Zero._Yuuya placed the candle gently on the desk.

In a swift movement, he held his hand over Kensuke's mouth, shoving the knife he had taken out earlier under his ribs. He could only muster muffled cries, volume equal to the way he had been talking. **"Fufufu... How does that feel, **_**best friend**_**?"** Yuuya asked with a maniacally wide grin, his eyes dull and blood thirsty. He twisted the blade inside, chuckling further with Kensuke's quieted shouts of pain. However, he stopped smiling, knowing he couldn't enjoy this to its fullest. **"I hate to cut our time short... but I have someone waiting outside,"** he said, jerking the blade out and kicking him down one of the gaps in the floor after placing the knife back into its hiding place. **"KIIIZAAAMIIII!"**Kensuke shouted as he fell. Yuuya gained a fake expression of terror, ready to play his part.** "KUROSAKII!"** he yelled back, sinking to the floor, a look of utter dismay on his face.

Ayumi waited outside, staring at the flickering flame of the candle to pass time. She sighed, beginning to feel wary as she wondered how her own friends were... Yoshiki was missing and there have been no sightings of the others. She would like to think that meant they were all okay or just separated by space, but this cruel place would not hesitate to cause more deaths. _Please be okay,_ she pleaded mentally to her friends. Ayumi jumped when she heard Kurosaki yell, followed by Yuuya's. She quickly swung the door open, the smell hitting her hard but she just tried to push that thought away. **"What happened!?"** she asked in dismay and confusion. Yuuya was sunken to the floor by a hole, her heart sinking when she realized his friend was nowhere to be seen.

Yuuya had his hands on the ground, trembling so slightly. When he heard Ayumi, he didn't move to face her, but still gave his version of the story as clearly as he could.** "I... I don't know... We were looking around, and then Kurosaki... he just stopped... I tried to snap him out of it, but I was pushed by some sort of-of... inhuman force... I tried to grab him in time, but-but I-"** he paused, his breathing picking up, **"I-I... couldn't..."**

Ayumi's eyes widened, her gaze centering on the hole in the floor. _How awful,_ she thought miserably. He had been so close... yet he still lost his friends. These ghosts really weren't screwing around. She glanced at Yuuya, unsure how to comfort him. It had been different when Mitsuki cried over Emi's body. She was a girl... and Ayumi had been a little more familiar. To hug Yuuya... no, she wasn't comfortable with most boys, especially strangers. She stood, clutching the candle with both her hands. **"It wasn't your fault... some things we just can't control in here."** The ghosts were practically gods of this domain... if they wanted to kill you, they would somehow. **"You shouldn't stay in this room,"** she advised lightly, in a similar fashion in how she got Mitsuki away from Emi's body.

Yuuya took in a deep breath, and nodded. **"Yeah... you're right..,"** he said, standing up and slowly leaving the room. _A perfectly played act_, he thought. Using the ghosts for his alibi was a cinch. Their absolute, almost godly power made it blaming them surprisingly easy. And of course, Ayumi wasn't going to question his story. _This place is amazing! A place where I can kill, and never be caught..._ Of course, he would probably die to the force he was using as a scapegoat, but he planned to enjoy his freedom to its fullest while he was alive.

Ayumi watched him leave the room, following him out and shutting the door behind her. Since Kurosaki fell to his death... that meant his body was somewhere on the first floor. She shivered slightly, since it wouldn't take long for decay to start wearing away at him. She was so tired of all the bodies and death... The ghosts had to be appeased someway... she just had to figure it out. She let the silence remain between her and Yuuya, since there was nothing she could say. One of his best friends had just died just after hearing that two other classmates had died. How he wasn't having a breakdown was beyond her. She wasn't sure if she could even handle a single friend dying, let alone three within half an hour of one another. She glanced over at him, trying to figure out how okay he really was. Her eyes quickly glanced down to the floor though, since she didn't want to be caught staring. He really was a calm and collected person...


	11. Chapter 11

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

Some things in the original story line are drastically changed, otherwise it would mostly be a repeating of the game. If you see something different, or if an area is in the wrong place, you do not need to inform me.

UNDERLINED PARTS ARE PLACES WHERE THE STORY CAN DIVERGE INTO A WRONG END. READ WRONG ENDS IN AT THE SEPARATE STORY TITLED AS SUCH.

* * *

Yoshiki carefully stepped through the halls, frantic to find Ayumi. But she was nowhere... Absolutely, positively nowhere! As he kept walking, he noticed as the darkness gave way to light. That's... weird... Wasn't the whole bottom floor dark? He stepped slowly into the light, very cautious. This... was really weird... Sure, the ghost had talked about different spaces, but he didn't think the school itself would change... But... did that mean he and Ayumi were split permanently? A new dread formed in the pit of his stomach as he stopped dead in his tracks. He... had promised to protect her... but now they were split, and she was vulnerable... He was ready to scream out when another loud yell overshadowed him.

**"AAAIIIII!"** Who...? Before he could process his thoughts completely, someone turning the corner crashed into him, sending him to the floor and the girl in the opposite direction. **"Urk,"** he grunted, rubbing his wrist, as his hands and tried to break his fall. **"O-oh, someone else! Thank God!"** the girl whimpered, quickly sitting up. She didn't seem to be wary of him as a stranger, or caring that she had just ran into him. **"I couldn't find anyone, and there was all this blood, and- aah, I'm just so frazzled!"** she said, her hands shaking. While she was another living person, he wasn't too thrilled, as he had wanted to devote his time to finding Ayumi. But now, he was met with another stranger, who he couldn't just leave behind for dead.

Yoshiki gave this girl a strange look, to which she responded with nervous fumbling with the end of her skirt. **"Oh, uhm... I'm Kirisaki Tohko,"**she introduced. His eyes focused on her uniform, instantly recognizing it as the same one Mitsuki and Emi had worn. Noticing his lingering eyes, Tohko blushed, tempted to slap the strange boy, but she couldn't help but find him a little attractive. He reminded her of Yuuya, and his cool, calm expression... Kizami Yuuya's expression alone almost made her melt, so this boy was already half the equation. Though, Yuuya's body couldn't be beat. She flushed more, thinking about his tall and lean figure.

Yoshiki noticed he was staring, and quickly looked up, feeling a strong air of awkwardness.** "K-Kishinuma Yoshiki,"** he quickly said, standing and holding out his hand to her. She quickly took it, but was still expecting him to be 'checking' her out. To dismiss her worries, he quickly walked past her, looking down the hall she had turned from. It was lighted too, and was missing the smell of decay. Was Emi not there anymore? He would be thankful if he wasn't too busy freaking out, on the inside. **"W-well, I'm really glad I ran into someone else... I felt like I was going to lose my mind..,"** Tohko said with a hesitant laugh, turning towards him.

**"What about you?"** Tohko asked, still fumbling with her hands. She wasn't yet put at ease, but she was a lot calmer than she had been alone. She hovered close to him, afraid to be separated. **"Uhm, I wasn't alone a little bit ago... but I... somehow lost her,"** Yoshiki said, his tone giving away to his fear for Ayumi's safety, **"I **_**really**_** need to find her."**Tohko leaned to the side, getting a look at his face. He was very determined, which gave her own moral a little boost.

**"Th-then I'll help you look!"** Tohko resolved, letting her hands drop to her sides. He seemed really desperate to find whoever this girl was, so she'd help... though, her motives weren't completely selfless. It was also a way to assure herself that he wouldn't leave her by herself. **"If you want to,"** Yoshiki muttered after he could compose himself. He felt his desire to detach himself again rise, and the information about the girl's classmates wouldn't come out of his mouth. He couldn't give her news like that... He continued to walk down the hall, approaching the stairs. The second floor's lights were still on as well, but he instantly began to notice some holes in the floor were repaired, while new ones were around. He stepped away, wondering if there was anything different down the other hall. Tohko waited silently for his decision.

Yoshiki decided to completely back track to the hall Emi had used to be in. The smell couldn't be picked up, until it hit him very faintly. It was nothing like the intensity of fresh death... As they kept going, Tohko got more and more anxious. She didn't want to go down here again, but maybe it'd be better now that she had someone with her. Her hand grabbed onto his sleeve as they walked, so she didn't lose him, but it seemed Yoshiki didn't even notice it. They came across a skeleton, it's position the same as Emi's, only now, she was completely decomposed. There was no way of identifying her, not even her uniform or school ID remained. He was thankful, though, because now Tohko didn't have to know of her friend's death just yet.

He was about to step across her, still feeling a deep guilt for it, but something stopped him. A faint voice, belonging to a girl, came into his head. Emi's?... _Ki... za... mi..._ it moaned. Kizami? Who was that? And why was she calling their name for? He looked back at Tohko, who hadn't seemed to have heard it. _Must have just been me_, he thought, dismissing the moan of the voice. He carried on, finally coming across a pile of scattered bones next to a wall that made his stomach do flips. Mitsuki...

Yoshiki was so confused, by the changes of the school. The bodies decaying... meant that this plane was further in the future, right? So why were some gaps in the floors fixed? He sighed, coming up empty in the hall way. He guessed the next best thing was to go back, and see what was on the second floor. Tohko had been quiet for a while, but as they went up the stairs, she finally piped up.** "Uhm, what's your friend like?"** she asked, craving casual conversation. **"Uh...,"** Yoshiki pause, not sure if he wanted to talk about Ayumi while she was still in danger somewhere, **"Eh, she's... our class representative, and she likes horror stuff, like the occult and scary stories."** **"Is that all?"** Tohko asked curiously, trying to prolong the talk. There wasn't much else he could generally talk about without seeming to be obsessed with Ayumi. Talking about her looks or intricate description of her personality made him seem too observant of her.** "Well, she... she's one of my two best friends, and is generally pretty nice,"** he said hesitantly, continuing up the stairs.

**"Hmm, really?"** Tohko hummed, coming closer as they reached the top of the stairs. She wrapped her arm around his, finally gaining his attention. She noticed how strange her actions were when Yoshiki gave her a questioning look. **"O-oh, I just don't want to get separated... You said you lost your friend suddenly, right? W-well, this way, I won't get lost,"** she said with a smile. He still didn't look convinced, so she had to try and put his worries further to rest. **"T-trust me, I'm not trying to woo you or anything!"** she said with a shake of her free hand, **"I like somebody else from my class... He should be here too."** Yoshiki still wasn't comfortable with being so close to a stranger, but he guessed there was no point in pulling away. After all, had Mitsuki grabbed on like this, maybe she wouldn't have died... So, he decided to leave it alone. He entered the Infirmary, looking around, and spotting something strange. Ayumi's candle still sat, the wax hardly ebbed away. It was as if time hadn't touched it, which only further confused him.

Yoshiki was reminded of Mitsuki again in the Infirmary, and his tiredness. He looked at his wrapped up wrist, getting further depressed. **"What happened to your wrist?" **Tohko asked curiously. **"Uhm, I sprained it, or something,"** he muttered as he began to remember. That doll... It seemed too important to fail... Maybe they were missing something... Maybe they had used it incorrectly... There had to be something about it that worked! He exited the room and began to run back, making sure to grab Tohko's hand before doing so, so he didn't leave her behind. He rushed back through the hall, not even giving the three corpses second glances as he came to the room. There it was, right where Ayumi had thrown it. It had no dust on it, untouched by time, just like the candle. **"What -pant- did we -pant- come back for?"** Tohko asked, out of breath. Without answering, he bent down to pick up the doll, hearing it's small, apologetic voice. _You __**have**__ to be able to do something else_, he thought.

Yoshiki slipped the doll into his pocket as it finally stopped muttering the same sentence over and over. **"Is that doll... talking?"** Tohko asked, a little freaked out but the doll's murmurs. **"Yeah, it's supposed to be the killer's repentance, but...,"**Yoshiki started, but paused, looking over her look of confusion and terror, **"Uhm, well, there's these children, who were killed by a teacher. My friend and I were told by this girl that repentance would put their ghosts to rest, and maybe end this whole thing, but... it didn't work."** That solved her confusion, but not her terror. **"My God... killing little kids?"** she repeated, as if completely dumbfounded by the concept. Yoshiki cleared his throat, desperate to get off the topic of the murder itself. **"While the doll failed to appease the spirits, it can't be completely useless,"** he told her, **"Which is the reason I came back for it. I figure holding onto it won't hurt, and could prove to be useful somewhere else."** Tohko nodded, but she was still taken aback by the fact of a killer, and his victims being children.

Yoshiki continued back down the hall, the one he had traversed so many times he was getting tired of it. As they ascended the stairs, Tohko's arm back to being intertwined with his, he began getting a bad feeling. He stuck his hand in his other pocket, feeling of the stone Ayumi gave him. A chill in the air wafted through the hall as they reached the top of the stairs. He tried to disregard it and carried on, stepping back into the Infirmary to make sure he hadn't missed anything. As he looked in the cabinets, he heard a small yelp from Tohko. Without much thought, he turned, meeting face to face with the girl without an eye. Tohko tumbled back, quivering in fear, while Yoshiki could only stare, frozen. _No... no, no, no!_ he thought, trying to move his body, but it refused. Next thing he knew, the ghost grabbed the scissors from the cabinet top, approaching his eye with them. **"No, stop!"** he screamed, finally able to fall backwards. He attempted to grab the scissors away from her, but he couldn't. He was helpless as the blades came closer. All he was capable of was screaming, even his thoughts were running rampant. **"DOOON'T!"** he yelled, struggling.

_SHATTER_

Yoshiki came back to his senses, breathing hard. He couldn't catch up with what was happening... The scissors were in his hand, his grip so tight his hand was shaking. He was on top of Tohko, his other hand restraining both of hers. She was quivering, tears in her eyes. **"Don't, please don't!"** she screamed, mimicking the way he had been. As soon as his brain caught up with what he was doing, he quickly went backwards, slamming his back against the cabinet. He threw the scissors to the side, utterly horrified with the stupid things. Terrified, Tohko quickly stood, running out fearfully. Yoshiki wasn't able to stop her, his own mind struggling to understand what had happened, and why he had been doing such a thing. Maybe... she was right to run... He had almost killed her... He reached in his pocket, finding the stone had broken into many pieces. What... if that happens again? He would've killed her... or Ayumi. His fear over the control of his own actions struck him hard, and he was afraid to move.

…

…

Yoshiki still sat, slipping between consciousness and unconsciousness as his brain grew more and more weary. His vision was blurred, and he couldn't find the motivation to move and find Tohko or Ayumi. It was mostly because he was afraid of himself, and what he would do to either of them. _I... Don't want to hurt anyone... but... I promised... to protect Ayumi... If she's in danger, I should find her... But what if I'm the danger?_His thoughts were the most conflicted they had ever been in this place. The recent run in with that girl, and those scissors... were really messing with his psyche. Before he could decide on an action, his eyes closed and he fell into a restless sleep.

In an unknown amount of time, his eyes reopened, but he felt no better. He looked around, noticing slight differences in the floor gaps' positions. Though, one thing was certainly the same... the candle sitting in the corner of the room. _Ayumi... there's... a slight chance I could end up killing you..._, he thought, feeling a pain in his chest, _But... it's more possible that everything else will cause your death if I'm not there to protect you..._ He forced himself up by using the cabinet behind him, walking forward with his resolution repaired, though he still had that lingering fear.

Yoshiki went to search the place he and Ayumi had been in last, but the hall and rooms were empty. _Only one place left..._, he thought, going down the long hall that was entirely unfamiliar to him. He opened the doors, and was surprised to find it lead to an open area, and to an entirely different wing.** "Dammit,"**he said under his breath at the discovery of an expansion of the already large school. He sighed, continuing forward and entering. He didn't check the rooms of the first floor, depending more on his hearing, as he could see hardly anything. Not far away, he heard pained coughs. He wasn't worried, as it sounded like a guy, but that wasn't a reason to totally overlook it. He approached the dark figure, and before he could ask what happened to him, he began to talk.

**"Be... careful...,"** the boy coughed. It obviously pained him to talk, but he kept trying, so it was bound to be very important. Yoshiki kept quiet, so he wouldn't miss anything. **"...of... Kiza... mi... Yuu...ya..."**

There was that name again... Had this Kizami Yuuya killed both this boy and... Emi? Yoshiki grimaced as the boy went silent, but he couldn't stop here. Now Ayumi was in danger of the ghosts, and this Kizami... **"Thanks,"** he said quietly, stepping away from the body.

Yoshiki continued, eventually finding stairs. Please be somewhere here, he begged as he climbed the stairs. When he got to the top, he resumed search, but froze when he saw a far off light. He could see a form that he knew was Ayumi. **"Ayumi!"** he shouted, smiling, but he stopped dead in his tracks, seeing someone else with her. They were tall, much taller than the small Ayumi. They could easily overpower her, and the boy he had saw moments before. Was it just coincidence that this guy was here, on the second floor, so close to the body on the first floor? **"Ayumi... Get away from there,"** he said, his expression grim. He decided it was better to be safe than sorry. His blood ran cold when he could swear that he saw the man's face shift.

Yuuya turned when he heard a yell. _That... must be her friend..._, he thought. He then looked to Ayumi as the boy called for her to get away. His look of remorse turned into a psychotic grin as he moved closer to Ayumi, making a grab for her.

Ayumi brightened when she heard Yoshiki's voice, relief flooding over her. He was okay! As he came into view, his expression shifted quickly, causing her brain to jolt in confusion. _Get away?_ she questioned quickly, in her mind. She didn't have time to run through the confusion to understand, when her eyes caught onto Kizami's expression changing into that of a psycho's. Ayumi's body reacted out of fear when she realized his intent. She moved quickly to avoid his hand. Her heart beat quickened, her fight or flight instinct running fully on flight as she ran towards Yoshiki.

Yuuya's grin didn't falter as she escaped his grasp. He began to chase after, chuckling darkly. **"C'mon, little Ayumi, I don't bite,"** he cooed, followed by an unsettling laugh.

Yoshiki grabbed Ayumi's hand as soon as he could, taking off down the stairs with his heart pounding furiously. To just find Ayumi, and find her with that man... He was absolutely terrified for her life, and for his, admittedly. He pulled her all the way to the main building, turning into a dark class room and going to the corner, sitting Ayumi down and then settling down next to her. **"Ayumi... that guy killed Emi,"** he informed in between hushed breaths.

Ayumi felt raw terror different than anything she had felt in here. A person was hunting them down like prey, the very though twisted her stomach. Adrenaline kept her running along with Yoshiki as they got into the main building, until they got into a room where they could hide in the corner. Ayumi sat down, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. She watched him sit next to her, her breath hitched at his news. **"N-no,"** she muttered, terrified. How could this be happening? Then a thought occurred to her that made her sick. **"He... he must've killed Kurosaki too..."** she realized, tears spilling as she couldn't handle the awful emotions rushing through her at once. If only she had gone in the room... maybe he wouldn't have had to die so soon at the hands of his supposed 'best friend'.

Kurosaki... That must have been the guy that warned him about Kizami. **"Y-yeah..,"** he confirmed, looking down at the floor. But, he had found Ayumi in time, and they had gotten away, for the moment. He still was holding tightly onto her hand, completely aware of it, he just didn't want to let go. Despite their reuniting being somewhat terrifying, he was so thankful to see her again. He wanted to embrace her, but this was neither the time, nor did he have the guts for it.

Ayumi's body was trembling in fear as she listened intently for Yuuya. She had no idea how he fell behind them or where he was now. Not knowing was causing scenario after scenario to pass through her brain, adding fuel to her fear. Ayumi's hand gripped tightly around Yoshiki's hand as well, thankful he showed up when he did. What had Kizami been planning for her? Why did he even bother playing the nice guy? Although, if he hadn't, he would've killed her right away... She hadn't even realized how close to death she was. **"W...what are we going to do?"** she asked quietly. They didn't stand a chance in a fight against him... plus, he had that knife. Could they just keep avoiding him?

**"I'm... still thinking on it,"**Yoshiki muttered, trying to calm his breathing down first. No matter how long they waited, Kizami would still be wondering around... He was even more of a threat than the ghosts at this moment... Man, this was intense...

_**"Where are you, little Ayumi?"**_

That voice... It was him, and he was near. He came closer to Ayumi, eyeing the door anxiously. The footsteps kept walking on past it, and Yoshiki was relieved for a moment. But, he was still out there in the hallways, so there was still no safety.

Ayumi took a sharp breath when she heard his voice and quickly placed one hand over her mouth to prevent anymore sounds escaping. She huddled closely to Yoshiki, shaking violently at the killer's cheerful taunt. Even as his footsteps disappeared she felt no safer. He could find them again... he was going to murder them. With all the ways to die in this place, at the hands of another person wasn't a death she was considering. **"He's... going to find us,"** Ayumi whispered fearfully. How long could they run for until he caught up?

Yoshiki looked to the floor, thinking all this through. It was true that there was no way to hide forever... and Kizami was probably stronger than himself, as much as he didn't want to admit it. But maybe they could trick him, and, as much as he didn't want to even think of it, lead to the psychopath's death... But currently, he had no ideas on how to do so... but maybe Ayumi did. **"Ayumi... I think our only chance is to trick him... Have any ideas?"** he asked, turning his eyes to her. He hated to push the decision on her, but _really_, he wasn't all that smart...

Ayumi frowned, looking at the ground as she thought. Trick him to his death... the thought put a knot in her stomach. She really didn't want to cause anyone's death... but she really wasn't to throw away her and Yoshiki's lives in favor of Kizami's. She shut her eyes, trying to think of ways to lead him to his death. Get him to fall down a hole? That may injure him, but that would involve a lot of chances that probably wouldn't work. Somehow get one of the ghost children after him? They had no clue how to manipulate the ghosts, though. They just killed when they wanted; she doubted they could be tricked. **"Well... back in the infirmary there was a bottle of alcohol,"** she began to speak uncertainly. **"If we got it, put a small cloth on it as a wick, and lit the cloth on fire, we would have a Molotov cocktail,"** she explained nervously. She could easily remember Ms. Yui's lecture on them and how they were used. The glass would shatter, causing the fire on the cloth to light the flammable liquid inside. It was a type of makeshift incendiary weapon... still, it was less 'tricking' and more 'murder' in that case. Plus, it was one throw... if they missed or the glass didn't shatter...

Yoshiki listened to her theory, already finding it very difficult to process. First of all, they'd have to make it to the Infirmary, which meant getting to the second floor without being caught. Then they'd have to have the time to actual make the weapon, and last, but not least, it had to work. Everyone one of those points had the possibility of them being caught, and most likely, killed... But it was their only plan... **"Sounds like our best bet..,"** he said, shifting his eyes back to the ground, **"As long... as you want to take your chances with it."** It's true she suggested it, but that didn't mean she was sure of herself. Plus, they'd both be taking a risk, because he sure as Hell wasn't leaving her here by herself.

Ayumi looked down as she thought out the plan. It was true... they had more chances to fail with the idea than to succeed. Still, it seemed like their only option that they could play a role in. Just hoping for one of the ghosts to get him wouldn't work... it'd be just as likely to get them. **"It's the only thing I can really think of,"** she admitted. **"And I don't want to just sit here, waiting for him to find us."** Sitting still was working up her anxiety more than anything. Inaction wouldn't get anything done... Plus, there were scissors up in the infirmary... so if things got physical, at least there was a type of weapon at hand. She stood up slowly, her knees weak and her legs sore. She felt so, so tired, both emotionally and physically. Now, they were plotting to kill someone... and if it failed, they would be dead.

Yoshiki nodded in agreement, waiting for another moment of silence before standing. **"This is pretty dangerous... but I think we can manage it,"** he told her, all uncertainty from his face wiped away. He helped her up by their joined hands, staring at the door with determination, but he still had a lingering fear. They always said that if something could go wrong, it would... and there were a lot of flaws in this last minute plan, but it had to work... **"Go when you're ready,"** he told her, giving her the opportunity to prepare herself before they began running for the Infirmary.

Ayumi took his hand, not letting go, even when she was standing. She didn't want to become separated again, especially with such risks looming the hallways. Ayumi nodded at his words, pausing at the door. She felt such primal terror coursing through her veins; she didn't feel like her heart could take it. But, they had a plan, and even with its flaws... it could work. At the very least, the flames would give them time to run away again? She didn't know anything that was about to happen once they made a run for it. They couldn't be inactive, though. She took a heavy breath, trying to center herself. She slid the classroom door open quietly, slipping out and making a run for the closest stairs. At this point, they were just putting it up to chance that they wouldn't encounter Kizami.

Yoshiki kept up with her speed, thankfully not seeing any sight of Kizami as they ran. Their times through these halls proved useful as they could easily find the stairs, rushing up them. His heart was racing, not able to catch a break, especially as he could swear he could hear steps thumping towards them. When they entered the Infirmary, he let go of Ayumi's hand for the first time to shut the door, holding it against anyone who might try to get in. He didn't want to be near the cabinets anyways, feeling that he had an increasing fear of those scissors. **"Hurry, Ayumi,"** he warned, waiting for the minute Kizami would start pulling at the door.

Ayumi nodded at Yoshiki's words, quickly going over to the cabinet. Her lungs were burning for air, but she was able to ignore them with the sense of urgency looming over them. She picked up the alcohol out of the cabinet, putting it on the table. There was still a lot of liquid in it, which was good. If it hit, it would be more effective that way. She grabbed the pair of bloody scissors off the floor, ignoring the gruesome sight as she grabbed the blanket on the bed and cut a large strip out of it. She took the strip, shoving it into the bottle. She quickly lit a candle, though she held it far away from the prepared bottle. **"Once we see him, we need to light the sheet and throw it at him,"** she explained. **"Who has the better throwing arm?"** she questioned, unsure if he was a lefty or a righty. If his injured wrist was his main hand, she would have to throw it. If that was the case... she was worried that she wouldn't have enough force behind her throw to shatter the bottle.

**"Probably me,"** Yoshiki answered, taking the bottle and candle carefully. Luckily, his injured wrist was his left one, and he was right handed. He pushed the door open with his foot, looking out into the hallway carefully. With the coast clear, he left, turning a corner and stander there. **"Tell me when he's coming,"** he told Ayumi. _Please don't miss_, he thought, his heart still racing. If he missed... they'd both pay for it with their lives. He gulped, trying to calm himself down. _If I miss... I'll just have to try and buy time for Ayumi to get away._

**"Right,"** Ayumi said to confirm she heard him. Her heartbeat felt ridiculously loud as they put faith in her quickly formulated plan. As they waited, her mind ticked through the reasons this plan might fail. The bottle could miss, the bottle won't break, Kizami will be too fast… The fears kept piling on as she glanced back at the bottle Yoshiki held. There was no backing down now though… She just had to accept what would happen would happen. She could hear distant footsteps echoing down the hall, her heart lurched and she had the desire to run. She stood her ground, hands tightening into fists, preparing herself for whatever may happen. **"He's coming."**

**"There you are, little Ayumi,"** Yuuya cooed as he stepped calmly closer, well-knowing she didn't have anywhere else to go. He didn't notice her talk. **"Where's your friend?"**

Hearing Ayumi's cue and Kizami's voice, Yoshiki lit the cloth and turned the corner. He aimed as quickly and as accurately he could, so it would successfully catch fire what they intended it to. He threw it, and it thankfully shattered. Kizami was unable to dodge, completely unprepared for their make shift weapon, and was caught square in the fire. He screamed, the pain clouding his judgment and ability to leave the fire. After only a few moments, he dropped to his knees, and, eventually, to the ground, the fire still blazing high.

It... worked! Yoshiki stumbled backward in astonishment, breathing a sigh of relief. _I didn't miss... thank God_, he thought, but still didn't feel very accomplished. After all, they had killed someone, even though it had been for their own safety. It weighed on his conscious.

Ayumi froze when he cooed at her, she only felt disgust towards him. The throw and flames happened in a blur that left Ayumi's eyes unable to pull away from watching. _It worked!_ she thought with some amazement, realizing that they had won. But... at what cost? By killing him, weren't they as bad as Kizami? Still... it had been survival...


	12. Chapter 12

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, Kensuke, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

Some things in the original story line are drastically changed, otherwise it would mostly be a repeating of the game. If you see something different, or if an area is in the wrong place, you do not need to inform me.

* * *

Ayumi sighed, moving to lean against the wall, since her body was still trembling. They managed to eliminate a threat, she told herself. He would be willing to kill them... he had been planning it, so she tried to push it off her conscious. She felt tired again, all the running and terror had ebbed away at her. It was tempting to pass out, but she knew they didn't have time for such luxuries. **"When I was with him... we went to the Principal's office... I found a tape and a small note, but there was a locked drawer,"** she began to mumble, as if wanting to pass over the fact they just killed someone. **"I think we need to find a key for it..."**

Yoshiki was glad to be given something else to talk about than their murder. It was self-defense, sure, but still... it was something he had never thought he would have to resort to in his entire life time. **"A key... that'll be a difficult find,"** he said with a sigh, walking over to her side, **"But if it's locked, it probably has something of value in it."** Now that that was all over, and the fire began dying down, he thought he heard something else... Like... weeping? He looked around a bit, before remembering the doll. He pulled it out of his pocket, looking at it strangely as it continued to cry. **"What's it doing now?"** he asked, but not directly to Ayumi. He had the urge to yawn, but held it back. He couldn't show such a sign of weakness if Ayumi wasn't.

**"That's what I was thinking... "** Ayumi agreed lightly. A locked drawer was just too suspicious to ignore. She blinked slowly, her brain becoming sluggish by her exhaustion. Crying? She knew it wasn't coming from them so she glanced around in confusion. Then, Yoshiki pulled the doll out and she glared at it. The high-pitched weeping made her uncomfortable and the doll just reminded her of their previous failure. **"You went and picked it up again?"** she questioned. He must've come across it when they were separated, she realized. Still, she didn't know why he would want to carry it around... it obviously wasn't what the children would take as repentance.

Yoshiki looked at Ayumi, frowning and glancing to the side. **"Well, yeah..,"** he muttered, forgetting that she probably didn't appreciate this action, **"Because... I didn't think it was here for nothing... It's the killer's voice, so it has to be significant for something."** He knew most of his reasoning for doing things was just going on speculation, but really. For a killer to not be able to speak, and this be his last way of communicating his feelings, it couldn't be completely useless, or so he thought.

Ayumi stared at the doll for a long moment with flat eyes, dark circle had formed under her eyes from the lack of sleep giving her a grumpy expression. She looked aside, letting out a small _huff_ of air. **"Yeah, you're probably right..."** she admitted. Still... the doll just made her uncomfortable with its almost constant weeping and pleading for forgiveness. She realized Yoshiki was right and it would be stupid to abandon it as she had done earlier. She leaned off the wall, looking at Yoshiki. **"We've lost our spot with going through the school..."** she realized warily. **"Plus... it would be so easy to overlook a small key for a desk drawer."**

**"Are you saying... that we should start over?"** Yoshiki asked with a deflated look, shoving the doll back into his pocket as he doubted it had anything different to say. He was too tired to go back through this whole school, looking for a key for a drawer... and he was ready to admit it. It was better than just fainting somewhere, like he had in the Infirmary. **"To be honest... I'm running on empty, Ayumi...,"** he said, rubbing the back of his neck. Sleeping seemed like a luxury in this place, a luxury he so desperately needed, and Ayumi probably did too, **"I'm not sure I can resume the search much longer without fainting from exhaustion..."**

Ayumi stared at Yoshiki blankly, for once finding herself extremely grateful for his bluntness. **"Hehehehe,"** she began to laugh, because she was _so_ tired and he had said exactly what she was thinking and for some reason she found it funny. She clasped a hand over her mouth, her giggles dying away. **"Same,"** she replied with a smile. **"We should we rest in the infirmary for a bit,"** she said, already aware he wouldn't argue with her. They were both ready to pass out. She walked back into the infirmary, her eyes determined to remain off the Kizami's corpse and what was left of it.

Yoshiki was glad to hear she agreed, giving a sigh of relief. **"I'm glad you think so too,"** he said, following her to infirmary, also adamant about not seeing what was left of Kizami. As they came into the room, he realized that this whole tired business was proving to be quite an embarrassing situation. There were two beds, sure, but they were pretty close... Ugh, he could feel his cheeks start to warm up, but he had to stop it before they became too noticeable.** "I, uh... could sleep on the floor, if it bothers you,"** he said, looking away from her for a moment.

Ayumi looked at the beds, the awkward realization of sleeping arrangements just dawning on her. She glanced at Yoshiki with his offering, looking away in embarrassment. **"What? No, it's fine,"** Ayumi clumsily managed to get out. She was a little frazzled by the idea of sleeping so close to a boy, but they were just sleeping. She kicked off her shoes, since she honestly would have trouble getting to sleep with them on. She climbed into a bed, her face red as she was suddenly _very_ aware of Yoshiki. She pulled the covers over herself, surprised that they only smelled slightly dusty.

Yoshiki still avoided looking at her, his blush intensifying. **"O-Okay,"** he responded, hesitantly climbing into the bed next to her. He didn't both with taking off his shoes, finding it didn't really bother him. He had returned home many times from his job and just collapsed on the bed without doing anything else, so he was very used to sleeping like this. Despite the disturbing area, and the embarrassing circumstance, she found his eyes were shutting very easily, and his mind was drifting off pretty quickly.

Once Ayumi's head hit the pillow, she found herself drifting off. Her body was so wary from hours of running, and her brain seemed relieved to finally get a break from the terror and strategy. She felt intensively grateful that Yoshiki had spoken up about his exhaustion, unsure how she had managed to even stay awake as long as she has. She fell asleep before long, though at one point in her sleep, she felt a chill which stirred her. She shifted over in the bed, finding warmth and cuddling up to it, falling back asleep easily.

Just as he was beginning to drift to sleep, Yoshiki was startled awake as he felt contact. It didn't take him long to figure out that it was Ayumi, cuddled up against him. _Uh... what?..._ His brain couldn't even begin to process what had led to this as his blush returned full force. The close proximity with no conflicting feelings meant he was melting, or at least feeling as such. He gulped, turning the best he could so that his back was to her, so he could hide his reddened face. He urged himself to sleep, but his heart was too excited to be hardly even close to calming down. _Just... keep it out of your head_, he tried to tell himself, and eventually, his absolute weariness took his mind, and he fell asleep alongside Ayumi.

Ayumi had a dreamless sleep, which was okay to her considering the dangers of dreaming culminating all the awful sights in Heavenly Host was a possibility. She began to stir, unsure how long she had even ended up sleeping. A couple hours? Eight? She likely wouldn't know, but just her brain reawakening, she could tell she felt _much _better. Hungry and thirsty, yes, but rest refreshed her. She shifted slightly, her eyes shooting open she noticed she was huddling to... Her eyes widened as a blush spread on her face, ears and climbed down her neck. She jerked away, mortified how she was _clinging_ to Yoshiki in her sleep. It was tempting to kick him and yell about him being a pervert, but she could tell that she was the one that must have moved in her sleep. She moved back to her bed, turning away from him. Maybe he didn't even know. She could play this off normally, right? Ah, her face felt so warm... and she felt absolutely horrified. Had she been cuddling up against him the entire time?! She would just play clueless, she told herself.

Yoshiki, surprisingly, had a normal, makes-no-sense dream, without bloodshed. However, he was awakened by a sudden shift, in a movement sense and surroundings sense. The heat he had felt for so many hours was ebbing away, and for a moment, his sluggish brain didn't recall why there had been a heat there or why it suddenly disappeared. He sat up, stretching with a moan. It wasn't as long as he'd like to sleep, but he did feel a lot better. He cast a glance at Ayumi, who he assumed was still asleep, when he remembered what had happened. She was... so close... His blush returned, and he quickly looked away so that, if she woke up, she wouldn't be able to see his reddened face. _I'll just pretend it didn't happen... spare both of us the embarrassment_, he thought, clearing his throat as he attempted to calm himself down.

Ayumi heard and felt the shift of Yoshiki get up. She continued to feign sleep in the hope he hadn't been aware of her... _ah, god._ Her face felt like it was on fire just thinking about it. Honestly, what was wrong with her? She calmed herself down slowly, deciding she should probably get up. They wouldn't get out of Heavenly Host by sleeping, and they still haven't found any trace of the others. She stirred, sitting up slowly. She felt blood rush to her head, causing her vision to blur for a second until she blinked it away. She glanced at Yoshiki, her face had a light blush on it, but she tried to push past it. **"Morning,"** she greeted, even if the sky was still dark outside. It was a pretty safe assumption to say it would always be night in this dimension.

Yoshiki heard her wake up, turning his head. He could still feel that his face was still warm, but he couldn't ignore her. He'd just have to play it cool, then. **"Sort of,"** he replied, easing out of the bed. He was already ready, since he hadn't taken anything off. Everything about him remained the same, despite his hair being a little more out of whack than it normally was. He went to the door, checking to make sure everything still looked the same, and that there were no ghost children wondering about. As the area proved clear, he slipped back into the room, placing his hands in his pockets as he waited for Ayumi to get up and put her shoes back on.

Ayumi stood up, putting her hand on her head to feel how messed up her twin tails were. It was a trivial thing, but she didn't care. She wasn't going to run around with a bed head. She untied her twin tails, brushing her hair down with her fingers. She quickly retied the tails, a motion she has done hundreds of times. She put her shoes back on and looked at Yoshiki. **"So, what's exactly our game plan?"** Ayumi asked. **"I really don't think we should start backtracking until we check every room," **she added, since her comment before their naps had been along the lines of redoing their search completely. If they could avoid going through every room again, all the better. They should exhaust options before retracing steps.

Yoshiki rubbed the back of his head, looking to the side. **"Well... I still haven't seen any of the second wing... We could find the key or something else in there, unless you've searched it completely before... you know,"** he paused, not wanting to relive the fear that had been instilled by being chased by another human. There could have been something they over looked, especially since he hadn't had the chance to investigate hardly anything over there.

Ayumi's eyes glanced aside at the subtle non-mention of Kizami. He could have easily killed her at any point before Yoshiki found her... instead he had tried to hunt them down. **"Kurosaki, before he died, said he searched the entire first floor. The second floor we checked one room... and the third floor we only saw the principal's office,"** she recalled. **"It's probably best to go check out the second wing ourselves,"** she admitted. She didn't know how thorough a person Kurosaki had been, and the second floor was still a mystery for the most part.

Yoshiki nodded, not finding their searches that liable. **"Yeah, it would be best to comb back over that place, just so we know for sure,"** he replied, turning to leave the room, but he heard the doll begin to sob again. He sighed, taking it out once more and staring pensively at it. Why was it crying instead of apologizing now? Did it mean something? He had no clue, and no way to find out. **"Ugh, there's no point in carrying it around if I don't understand it,"** he grumbled, tempted to just leave it, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. It still could be useful, and if he left it behind now, he'd be cursing at himself later.

Ayumi flinched as the crying starting up again, feeling frustration towards the doll. It was so random, just crying out of nowhere. It had been weeping earlier when Yoshiki first showed her that he picked it up. **"Just keep it... we'll try to pay attention to triggers for its cries or something,"** Ayumi said begrudgingly. She would be happy to just toss the doll aside; the killer's spirit being with them wasn't very comforting. Even if it was the regretful part. **"It has to be connected to the killings somehow," **she said, though she wasn't very confident in what she said. She was really sick of only having questions in this place with no answers. She stepped out into the halls, eyes glancing warily from left to right. No sign of the ghost children... but it has been awhile since their last run in with them.

Yoshiki agreed, stuffing it back into his pocket. **"I feel the same, it just frustrates me that I don't know what to do with it,"** he grunted, beginning to go down the hall towards the stairs. He was getting tired of the endless searches... He wanted results, but they weren't getting any, only more problems. He stopped, thinking about all the things he had run into while being separated from Ayumi. **"Hey, uhm... I have some stuff I need to share,"** he said out of the blue, stepping aside to face Ayumi.

Ayumi let out a weak hum of agreement with the annoyance at the doll. Ayumi followed him down the hall, her mind buzzing through possibilities of why the doll could be crying. Maybe it reacted to the ghost's presence? But it's been crying and there haven't been ghosts around them for a bit. When Yoshiki stopped, Ayumi stopped and looked at Yoshiki in concern. She was about to ask if he was okay when he spoke. She looked a bit surprised, yet worried at the same time. **"Okay,"** she replied, trying to keep a neutral tone and expression. The way he began this was worrying her a bit on what he could be telling her. Still, she had to note to herself that she was glad he was sharing information with her. He seemed to like to keep a lot of things to himself, hurt wrist and all.

Yoshiki tried to recall all of what he had kept from Ayumi, deciding to start with his illusion. **"None of this stuff may be important, but I don't really want to keep things hidden,"** he started, rubbing the back of his neck with his eyes looking towards the ground, **"First of all, in my hallucination... I think I was hit in the head by a person and a tool. That's what gave me the idea the teacher might be around somewhere... I was also threatened with a pair of bloodied scissors, which is why I don't really like to be around them, per say."** He recalled the time he had been with Ayumi and Mitsuki, and how he had frozen and the color drained from his face. **"When we split up for the first time, I didn't really **_**just**_** misstep... I was running from the third child, a girl with her right eye missing. That wasn't my last run-in with her, either,"** he mentioned, digging into his pocket and holding out the shattered stone, **"When we got separated somehow, I ran into this girl named Tohko, with the same uniform as Mitsuki. When we were in the Infirmary, that girl showed up again, and I accidentally looked straight at her. If you hadn't given me this, I would have... would have killed Tohko..."** He knew revealing his feelings about this close call didn't have anything to do with information about the school, but he just wanted her to know, **"I was scared to keep looking for you, because I didn't want to hurt you like I almost did Tohko... and I... still am, kind of... Scared, I mean..."** This jumble of confessions just sounded like a lot of random information, but he just wanted to get it off his mind. Besides, Ayumi had been truthful with him, so he had no reason to keep her in the dark.

Ayumi stared at Yoshiki as words tumbled out of his mouth. Her mind struggled to keep up with all the information he was giving her. So that was what really happened in the illusion... The ghost child had almost got him... The power stone she gave him saved his life... He was afraid of hurting her. She felt a bit flooded with the information, wondering what triggered him into telling her about everything. **"I'm... glad you're telling me all of this,"** she said first. Sure, she was a little annoyed that this flood of information could have been avoided if he had just been completely honest right away, but Yoshiki wasn't normally too open about everything, so she could forgive the shortcoming. Besides, he was telling her everything now, so that's all that mattered, right? **"And I know how you feel,"** Ayumi said, referencing his fear. Her possessions were constantly poking at the back of her brain as she wondered when she would just lose control of herself again, and what would result from it. **"But... I think we'll be fine, as long as we keep finding our way back to one another,"** Ayumi admitted with a sheepish smile and a blush. He had pulled her back from both possessions... and she had cut him out of his hallucination, and her stone had protected him from the ghost. They were there for each other, and she was prepared to shoulder what may come.

**"Yeah,"** Yoshiki agreed, feeling somewhat silly, **"I can't believe I let that hold me back..."** He seemed somewhat embarrassed, but was mostly just touched by the way she had worded it. Finding our way back to one another... **"I'm sorry... I thought it was lack in confidence with myself, but I guess it's the other way around, huh?" **he asked, still avoiding her gaze as he felt his cheeks warm, **"There's no doubt in my mind that I'd come back to your voice... I just wasn't thinking of it at the time..."** He felt painfully cheesy right about now, but it was more to clear his own head, rather than Ayumi's. He also noticed it might have sounded a little weird for their 'friends' level, but it was too late to take it back now.

Ayumi smiled lightly at his apology, understand his dilemma well enough that she wouldn't even consider holding it against him. It was impossible to keep confidence and bravery up in this horrible place all the time; moments of self-doubt were to be expected. Ayumi felt her face redden at his comment... no doubt that her voice could bring him back? There was such faith in her, and just... the _way_ he said it. She felt a little embarrassed at the scene unrolling, but she was happy. **"And there's no doubt in my mind that you'd bring me back, too,"** she assured him. She was touched by his faith in her, and she felt the same exact same faith in him.

Yoshiki smiled sheepishly, turning back around as his face deepened in color. He was getting embarrassed too much; his calm and cool demeanor was getting harder to keep up. While he was really happy that she could trust him, he would like to change the subject, but he couldn't think of one. **"I'm glad,"** he muttered, a kind of thanks towards her, but being honest with his feelings was also a reason he said it. Even saying that small emotion was difficult for him, so he had no idea if he'd ever be able to tell her his biggest secret.

Ayumi wasn't sure what to say, changing the subject seemed too abrupt. She just let the silence carry on as they made their way towards the second wing. Down the hallway, though, she made out a figure she immediately recognized. **"Naho!"** Ayumi said quickly, the dead girl's eyes shifted over to them. The last time they had seen her... was the event with Mitsuki and the doll... She couldn't blame Naho for the failure. She had even said it might not work, it was only a theory. Ayumi was pretty happy to see the girl, since last time they had no time to chat with Mitsuki in trouble. She knew Naho probably knew more about this place than any ghosts.

**"Hello,"** Naho greeted, her expression calm at coming across the two of them again. She has been quite enjoying watching these two; it has been so long since entertaining victims had come into the school. **"Have you two been making any progress?"** she asked in a tone that laced a double meaning into it. She glanced at Yoshiki, mocking him subtly. The boy was so in love he was willing to put his own life on the line, but he wasn't willing to say a couple simple words. What a fool. Then again, Ayumi was oblivious and infatuated with that other boy. She was just glad the romance gave her something to observe, she really did need the distraction from the constant drudgery of death.

Yoshiki stopped as he saw the familiar face, though he didn't greet her like Ayumi did. She creeped him out a little, but she probably had a lot more information than them, so it was best to not say that to her face. **"Not really,"** he replied with a flat look, but he didn't have a duel meaning to it. He didn't pick up that she was mocking him in the slightest, but he still felt a little annoyed at their lack of progress. **"How about you? Have a new theory?"** he asked back, not entirely meaning it to be mocking her, but he wouldn't take it back either.

Naho raised an eyebrow at Yoshiki, of course he was too simple to be bothered with subtleties. She didn't get annoyed at his comment, though. It didn't matter to her that the girl ended up dying, what mattered was the information about the doll. The ghosts hadn't felt any satisfaction from the ghosts cries, it only seemed to rile them up. The girl's death had been necessary for that information, so it wasn't a loss. She would've died someway, at some point. She smiled coolly at Yoshiki. **"I take it you've noticed the doll randomly crying, correct?"**

**"Yes, we have. Do you know why?"** Ayumi asked, the look of admiration towards Naho not flickering. _What a sweet little fangirl,_Naho thought sarcastically to herself. Still, she was easier to talk to than the prickly boy.

**"It may be crying about the teacher's body parts,"** Naho explained neutrally. **"At least, that's what I've gathered. It may do you two well to try and search the areas it's crying in very closely,"** she explained.

Yoshiki tilted his head, obviously outright confused. **"Wait... so why do we need the body parts?"** he asked, not wanting to carry out some search that wouldn't gain them any progress. Out of curiosity, he pulled the doll back out of his pocket, but it had stopped crying. If Naho was correct, and there was body parts laying back into the hall behind him, what sort of significance did they have? Would they somehow appease the ghosts? No, that didn't make sense... Then what?!

**"Perhaps the teacher would appreciate them,"** Naho answered dryly. This boy really needed everything to be spelled out, didn't he? She much preferred guys like her teacher, who followed things so easily. She sighed at him. **"Besides, the doll could always be crying for **_**another**_** reason. I think it may be his body parts, but perhaps it's something that could be of some use to you,"** she explained. She was becoming bored talking to the two of them. **"It's a risk, I suppose, using your time to follow the doll's cries. After all, there are so many more rooms to scavenge, right?"** she mocked. She found it hard to believe he'd be hesitant to follow an actual _lead_, in favor for wandering around as they have. **"Mm, well, that's all,"** she said, deciding she was fully bored of the two of them. She left with a blink of an eye, once again.

Yoshiki didn't look amused by her mocking that he could actually read. She really knew how to piss him off... but he guessed that wasn't exactly hard to do, especially in his earlier years. He chose to remain bitterly quiet until she left, where he let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his head. **"Why do you like her so much? She just seems like a stale pain in the ass to me,"** he said, even taking into account that she could still hear whatever he said. He didn't really care what that Naho thought of him. She didn't seem like a person he'd like to be around on a daily basis, therefore her impression of him meant nothing.

Ayumi remained quiet through the end of the conversation, Naho leaving before she could get a 'bye' or even 'thanks' in. She certainly was different than how she always imagined her. Ayumi looked at Yoshiki as he asked his question. She paused before trying to explain. **"Well... one day I was feeling really discourage about my future and being an illustrator, so I went to go vent to my sister. After talking for a while, my sister gave me Naho's book... she told me how she was making waves in paranormal research and was even a contender for an Akutagawa award. My sister said Naho was my age and didn't have any sort of teachers with writing, she just did it because it was fun. She loved writing, and was able to get book after book published. It inspired me,"** Ayumi admitted, embarrassed sharing such a story. **"That day was when I made the decision I would keep trying until I'm a professional. I even made the goal to one day design a cover for her one of her books,"** Ayumi recalled fondly. Her expression flickered, **"Though, I guess there's no way of that happening now..."**

Yoshiki listened to Ayumi's short speech, a little jealous that she had an aspiration in the first place. He had no clue what he wanted to do with himself... but he had to be successful at whatever he chose, or else he'd let his parents be right, and that... infuriated him. Just the thought of it got him agitated. He then frowned as Ayumi's story became a bit more soured, since Naho was obviously not in the position to write another book... That, and he had a feeling the high and mighty author would've been really hard to please. She was probably better off finding a different idol... in fact... **"You just need a new goal. In fact, when we get out of here, you can publish your findings of what other investigators failed to figure out, including Naho,"** he said, trying to turn the bad into the good, **"In other words, surpass who you look up to. That's always a good bar to set, right?"** He then paused, letting his hand slide down to his neck instead of his head, looking to the side, **"I know I don't really have the best experience with setting goals, but that just seems like a good starting point until you figure out new ones along the way."**

Ayumi stared at Yoshiki, considering his idea. She immediately could pick out the problems that would happen. She really didn't know what was happening here, her writing wasn't very good, and she couldn't really imagine herself surpassing Naho. She couldn't help but imagine the idea of holding her own book in her hands, with a cover designed by her... just something of her own creation. It was a tantalizing thought, but she doubted her capability to achieve it. **"It is a good goal,"** she agreed with a light smile. She tilted her head, looking at Yoshiki curiously. **"What about you? Have you set up any goals for the future?"** she asked. She knew Yoshiki had a bit of an... issue when it came to school, she could recall him almost being reckless enough to punch a teacher. Recently, though, he has been attending classes and has seemed to have calmed down quite a bit. She figured it must be because he figured out his goal for the future.

Yoshiki's look seemed to darken as the question of his own future was brought up. Sure, he had things he enjoyed doing, but he had no ideas for what he actually wanted to do, or even where he should be focusing his studies. He let his hand enter his pocket, as did the other one with the doll. **"No... not at all, actually,"** he said with a small shrug, **"I'm still... looking around, I guess."** Though, their last year or so of school was going quickly by. If he didn't decide before graduation, if he even was able to pass, his chances of ever picking a dream job dropped by... a lot, probably... **"The only thing I know for sure is that I want to succeed at whatever it is,"** he said, knowing how obvious that statement was, but it meant something else for him than it did normally. Of course, being good in your future occupation was something everyone wanted, but for him, it was more linked to parental issues.

Ayumi couldn't stop a small look of concern when he admitted to a lack of a dream. Their last year was going by so quickly, everyone was already talking about University's and where they wanted to go. It was one of the reasons she brought in the Sachiko Ever After charm, so that way she could feel connected with her friends, even if they all ended up going different ways. It must be disheartening to watch everyone talk about their futures, when having no grasp of your own, she realized. **"I'm sure you'll be great in whatever you choose to do,"** she answered genuinely. Once he figured out a goal, she truly believed he would shine in whatever field. **"You like music a lot, right? There's plenty of stuff to do with that, I bet,"** Ayumi suggested with a smile. **"Just figure out what you love and go from there,"** she advised brightly. That's how it happened for her. She loved drawing and art, it was only natural she leaned in that direction for her future. She didn't care if her parents disapproved of such an... unstable choice.

**"You have too much faith in me,"** Yoshiki said with a small laugh as she commented on his ability to do 'great', turning to look down the hall. It was best to keep searching while talking, so they weren't completely wasting time. But, he did believe normal talk like this was good for their mental health... that, and he wanted to know more about Ayumi. Stuff he couldn't learn from just watching from the sidelines, like he had been doing in school. **"Believe me, I've been trying,"** he said with a sigh, and then mentally added that fact that he had only started about two years ago, **"I just can't land on anything specific."**

**"Hey, as long as you try, you come through,"** Ayumi remarked as he questioned her reasoning of faith in him. He really needed to give himself more credit. He turned a lot around, from what she saw during their days in class together. Plus, he had been her lifeline through this entire Heavenly Host nightmare. And what they've gone through in here is tougher than anything they'll face out there. **"I guess you can only really keep trying things,"** Ayumi admitted. **"It isn't like you have a deadline. Sure, the year is going to be over before we know it, but you can always wait to apply to colleges. Or, maybe you'll pick a career where you don't even need it,"** she said with a small shrug.

**"Well, I kind of do,"** Yoshiki said with a tone of uncertainty as he began walking, waiting to hear the doll start crying, **"I feel like if I don't start working towards a goal before school ends, I'll lose the drive for it."**_ Mostly because I have a stupid fear that I'll lose touch... With Satoshi, the others, and you... Haha, it's ridiculous, but it's there._ So ridiculous, in fact, he didn't want to share it, knowing she'd only tell him it wouldn't happen, that they'd stay friends for a longer while than just to the end of school.

**"Putting a time limit on it like that will just discourage you if you don't figure it out in time, though,"** Ayumi frowned as she walked alongside him. **"One of my sister's friends went to college, even though she had no clue what she wanted to be. Then she took some Psychology classes and is aiming to be a therapist now. Don't stress yourself out by limiting things. The world will still be turning after graduation. You'll only lose drive if you give up,"** she told him, not liking the way he was thinking. **"I better not come back during the summers and find out you've been doing nothing,"** she teased lightly. Though, there was a level of truth to it. She'd hunt him down if she had to and smack some sense if he went back to his delinquent ways.

**"It's not that... I just... feel like I'll be..,"** Yoshiki paused, trying to think of how he wanted to word it exactly, **"... be... left behind? Maybe..."** He smiled slightly at her tease, both finding it amusing and comforting. In other words, she was saying she'd still care about what happened to him, even after their leisurely school days. He was certain his fears were just stupid little things he was bound to stress about at some point. He also had an idea of where they came from... and he was hesitant to tell Ayumi. But maybe she had overheard Mr. Tsubota, and already knew about his home situation. **"I think it's mostly just a stupid worry that came from a fear of proving my parents right."** He'd like Ayumi to know about him, so he'd stop trying to hide things. And maybe, he just needed to tell someone for them to get off his mind. Someone to tell him what his parents thought didn't matter.

**"Proving your parents right?"** Ayumi echoed in confusion. She was aware of Yoshiki's living situation and the fact he had a part time job, but she never really did get the exact details on what happened to him to lead him into his own apartment. She never really felt like it was her business, either. They were being pretty open with each other now, though, so she felt a bit more comfortable approaching the personal question. The normal conversation was making the halls a bit less intimidating, but she didn't want to tempt fate by getting to comfortable. She was still wary with her steps and the hallway, keeping an ear out for the crying doll. Not that she wanted to find the teacher's bodies parts... but Naho was right. It was the only lead they had gotten out of this place.

Yoshiki grew quiet for a moment, regretting bringing it up for a moment. Ah well, he'd probably feel better as he kept talking about it. **"Well... they don't have a whole lot of faith in my future, per say,"** he said with a small shrug, bringing out the doll to focus his attention on it. It had yet to start crying, but he figured they were close to where it usually started up.** "They've never really been proud of me, and probably think I'll end up lying in the streets of a city somewhere,"** he said with a small laugh, but the sad part was that he wasn't joking. That's probably what they expected his future occupation to be; a beggar on the streets.

Ayumi frowned, words escaping her on what to say. She felt like calling his parents jerks or assholes, but she figured that was pretty obvious. How awful for parents to give up on their children like them. They're the failures. **"But you'll prove them wrong,"** Ayumi stated, looking at him. **"I know it,"** she said with a light smile. She had always believed Yoshiki was better than he treated himself. It was why she intervened that day with that awful man. She didn't want to see Yoshiki throw his future away by being expelled.

Yoshiki just smiled back at her, appreciating her trust in him. _That's where it started..._**"I should really just to blot out their opinions and keep going on yours and Miki's,"** he said, looking back to the doll for a brief moment, **"But... it's a little harder said than done."**He took a few more steps, and the doll began to weep. Only this time, it was saying more than just 'I'm so sorry.'

_'nine paces tortoise, four paces tiger.'_

Yoshiki stopped where his foot last landed. **"H-huh?"** he asked, utterly confused with the whole animal thing. He assumed they were directions, leading to whatever they were supposed to find, but he didn't know which ones they were, and therefore couldn't follow them.

Ayumi was about to respond when the doll began to weep, sending a shiver up her spine. She really couldn't stand its voice. She frowned as the little doll said more than just apologies. Directions... but instead of a nice clear 'left' 'right' 'east' and 'west' type lead, it uses animals? Though... what did the animals correlate with? **"I don't get what the animals are pointing to,"** Ayumi admitted, upset with not being able to pull such knowledge out of her head right away. Tiger and Tortoise... the hell? She pinched the bridge of her noise as she began to think of all their lessons. It wasn't the zodiacs... a tortoise wasn't a figure in that group after all. She felt like she knew this... somewhere in the back of her head. The tortoise... the tiger... the bird and the dragon? Was that it? **"Maybe... the four mythological creatures of the Chinese constellations? Ah, I can't remember which animal was which direction though. The dragon of the... east? Then there was the bird, the tiger, and the tortoise..."** Ayumi's voice trailed off as she tried to remember specifics. **"I can't remember,"** she sighed. This was a test question a while back too... who would've known such a detail actually would've been good to really memorize.

Yoshiki looked to Ayumi as she attempted to figure out. The whole Chinese thing did sound a little familiar, but he had no hope of remembering what was what. **"Ehh... trial and error?"** he suggested with a shrug, glancing down at the doll. It continued to weep, apparently done with the hints, **"That's all I can think of to do."** Well, they knew it wasn't East, and it certainly wouldn't be South, would it? Well, it had a lower chance of being South than North or West. So, trial and error and elimination... **"Ah, seeing as this is a hallway... The first step could be going North? Seeing as it'll stop crying if we go South, and West runs us into a wall,"** he further said, but it was only a theory. It could just be tricking them and it was South... but that wouldn't make any sense.

Ayumi thought carefully with what Yoshiki was saying. She nodded slowly. **"I think you're right... tortoise for north,"** Ayumi said slowly and deliberately. It seemed to line up with her memory lightly. East was the dragon. North was the tortoise. So west and south was a tossup between the tiger and bird. She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. It really couldn't have been nice and clear, could it? **"It isn't like anything bad will happen if we guess wrong at first,"** Ayumi said with a small shrug. There was a limited amount of possibilities. Still, what happened when they found the spot the doll directed? She wasn't so sure she wanted to find parts of anyone's body... Whatever they were about to find, it had to be under the wooden boards, she realized. After all, they had traversed this hallway numerous times, and they would have noticed a dismembered arm.

Yoshiki paused for a moment, thinking hard on exactly how much a pace was. If he over shot each pace, he'd be way off, even if he got the number and direction right... Well, he wouldn't know if he didn't try. He walked forward, counting off his steps in his head until he got to nine. Now what? Surely it wasn't South... So did that mean West? **"Then... is Tiger West?"** he asked Ayumi, looking about. It's not like it'd make a whole lot of difference. It wasn't like a trap would come down from the Heavens and kill them if they got it wrong... right? Then again, this school was really odd in all aspects, so, while it would really suck, he wouldn't be surprised, really.

**"I think so... it sounds right,"** Ayumi answered. She tapped her chin thoughtfully, following along with Yoshiki's steps. That seemed right to her, as her memory began whirling. **"Dragon is East, Bird is South, Tiger is West, and Tortoise is North... if we've deduced this all correctly,"** Ayumi summarized, almost certain that they arranged it correctly. **"So, four paces west and we'll find whatever this doll is leading us to,"** Ayumi said with a look of apprehension. She was excited for progress, but it didn't wipe out the nervousness of this. The doll was creepy, and she wasn't particularly thrilled they were trusting it.

Yoshiki agreed, going quickly four steps West. It was a spot next to the wall, and the floorboards creaked more so here, like they could be shifted easily. He put the doll back into his pocket, bending down to the floor boards. He pulled at them, easily breaking off a section, making a hole big enough for him to mindlessly stuff his hand down... Lovely. Trusting this doll and reaching into a hole he couldn't see down sounded fun, right? He sighed, reaching into it and feeling around for anything. His hand made contact with some sort of bag, and it was wet. He had a bad feeling in his stomach, but sucked it up and grabbed hold of the object. He pulled it out, his face twisting in disgust as it revealed to be a bloodied, small bag, with a name tag attached to it. _Yoshizawa Ryou_. He stood, giving Ayumi a glance before motioning it towards her. **"Here, you take a look,"** he said, attempting to avoid the sight that laid in the bag. He was already a little sick from even holding the bag, and felt he might not be able to take seeing its actual contents. But, he was more or less saying it like a last stitch effort, even though he was pretty sure she'd refuse, and he'd have to end up doing it anyways.

Ayumi followed and watched Yoshiki quietly as he fished the bloodied hemp bag. She flinched in disgust at it. She glared at him, taking a step back when he requested, or rather ordered, she look into the bag. **"What!? No way!"** she snapped at him, clearly determined to not see what's in the little bag. Her stomach was turning just at the blood on the bag. **"I'm not touching that thing, **_**you**_** look!** she ordered with a sharp tone. Honestly, why would he think she would actually willingly look in it? She could tell it was going to be something bad.

Yoshiki sighed as his attempt failed, as expected. He placed the doll back into his pocket as he loosened the strap around the opening of the bag. He looked in briefly, his stomach flipping at the sight. He quickly closed it, holding his arm over his mouth as he coughed. There wasn't a particularly bad odor, but the mere glimpse he got made him dry heave a little, causing the coughs to come up. Once he regained his composure, he decided to tell Ayumi of the findings. **"It's a... tongue,"** he told her, keeping his eyes off the bag so he could get his mind off of what laid inside.

**"W-w-what!?"** Ayumi yelled, staring at the bag in horror. Her stomach convulsed at the very idea, causing her hand to fly up to her mouth. She really couldn't stand this place! She just wanted to go home! She was sick of corpses and body parts and blood! Her frustration was boiling over at this entire situation but she bit it back. Her eyes glanced over the bag in horror, but she could tell there was a student ID attached. **"Whose -pant- name tag is it?"** she asked quietly, her breathing becoming shallow as panic set in.

Yoshiki noticed her begin to panic again, something she hadn't done in a while, but was still normal. With all this stuff piling on with each new discovery... Even if they evaded death in here, their minds probably wouldn't last much longer. He composed himself, taking the role of the strong one yet again. He turned the bag so that he could so the name tag. It was stained with blood, but he could still read it pretty clearly.**"Yoshizawa Ryou,"** he read aloud, not initially figuring out who that may be.

Ayumi looked at the bag, her eyes sickeningly drawn to it. That tongue was the little ghost boy's. She dry heaved, tearing her eyes away to stare at the wall. **"We -pant- have to give it -wheeze- back,"** Ayumi mustered. It belonged to the boy, it was a part of his body that had been cruelly cut out of him. Even if she couldn't find sympathy for the boy since it was the ghosts fault Misuki and so many others were dead... she could find it in her to return it. Besides, Naho insinuated something about giving ghosts back their body parts... even if it had originally been in reference to the teacher, ghosts operated under the same rules. **"To the little -gasp- ghost boy..."** she explained, unable to get more words out. The very thought of approaching the ghost terrified her. The ghosts had all lost their tongues though. That's what the article had said so long ago. The tongue belonged to him...

Yoshiki frowned, seeing her condition was getting no better. He didn't have anywhere to put the bag, but he could hide it behind him as he approached her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, attempting to look directly into her eyes. **"Calm down... We have to get through this, or else we'll join them,"** he said, filled with a new determination at this new lead Naho provided them. It was looking pretty hopeful, as they had found something that could actually be linked to one of the victims. Did that mean they had to find the rest of the tongues too?

Ayumi jumped slightly at the surprise contact, even if it was just her shoulder. She looked at Yoshiki, only meeting his eyes for a second before she looked away. **"Don't you -pant-pant- think -wheeze- I know that!?"** she snapped at him, frustrated at herself and him. She hated this weakness. She wished she could just calm herself down easily, it just didn't happen. Yoshiki was carrying a _tongue_, cut out of a little boy's mouth, which they now needed to give to a ghost that could _easily_ kill them both with a look. Her chest hurt from her poor breathing. **"Let's -gasp- just keep moving," **she said breathlessly, turning away from him. She would be okay... she had to clear her mind... she'd be _fine._

Yoshiki backed off from her, biting his tongue and letting her calm down herself. He followed her advice and kept moving, unable to talk to her for the moment. _Man... I really __**am**__ bad at this... You'd probably be ok if we could find Satoshi..._, he thought, looking towards the ground as they walked. He had to think to himself about what their next move would be... Was it to keep looking around where the doll cried, or would they need to actually look for the ghost boy? That sounded so backward, but it was definitely something they'd need to get done, and he'd rather do that then carry around multiple tongues or any other body parts... if he had to choose one option.

Ayumi's breathing progressively calmed down, though she still felt a stone in her stomach. She didn't know how much more of this place she could take... she could only handle so much. They walked with seemingly no direction... though it wasn't like they knew another crying spot or where the ghost was. Scavenging is what they were left to do again... although this time with more direction. At least they had goals... maybe the tongues will quell the ghosts' anger enough for this school's dimension to fall apart. At this point, though, Ayumi wondered if the dimension was reversible. Down the hall, she saw a blue flame flickering in the middle of the hallway, almost as if it was waiting. She wondered... would it know where Yoshizawa Ryou currently was?

Yoshiki saw the blue spark too, hoping it held even more information that they didn't. They soon came upon it, and it, unlike the others they had come across, began talking almost immediately. _"You two... your uniforms are unfamiliar... Have you just arrived here?"_ it asked, but still had that same tone of sadness mixed with pity. They had been asked that many times, it seemed, but this time he'd have a different answer. **"Not really... we've been around for quite a while, actually,"** he answered, finally speaking after the long silence between the two, though it still wasn't aimed at Ayumi. _"That's... odd..."_ Why? Was it because people didn't normally last too long, or was there another reason he was overlooking?

Ayumi looked at the floating soul, glad that it was willing to talk too quickly. Though, as it spoke, she began to have a sense of dread come over her. **"Why is that odd?"** she asked quietly, looking nervous. _"Normally..."_ it began slowly, but seemed to come to its own conclusion. _"Ah, you two came here by yourselves? Normally the groups are bigger,"_ it explained its reasoning. Ayumi stared at it, her voice getting caught. **"W-what? No... there should be others with our uniform in here,"** she told it, her voice had a sharp edge to it. _"Hmmm..."_ the pitiful little thing said thoughtfully. Ayumi wondered what it was doing... rethinking the people it had been seeing? Can these ghosts sense the amount of people coming in and dying?

After a small pause, the spirit continued, as if sure of itself and what it had seen._ "If you two have been in here as long as you claim... I should have seen uniforms like yours, but... I haven't. Not one."_


	13. Chapter 13

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, Kensuke, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

Some things in the original story line are drastically changed, otherwise it would mostly be a repeating of the game. If you see something different, or if an area is in the wrong place, you do not need to inform me.

* * *

Yoshiki just stared, processing what this meant... Well, it could mean nothing. After all, the spirit probably was all seeing, and it just hadn't caught a glimpse of any of their friends, but he doubted that. There should have been five others with their uniform, at least, plus Satoshi's little sister and Ms. Shishido. It was more likely that... what? Their friends weren't here at all? **"What exactly... are you getting at?"** he asked, to make sure his mind was on the right track.

Ayumi felt herself begin to tremble slightly, emotions rushing through her at breakneck speeds. She was afraid to assume anything and just waited for the little flame to answer Yoshiki. _"It looks like you are the only two of your group that were sent here,"_ it answered in such a pitying tone. Ayumi froze, staring wide-eyed at the blue-spirit. She couldn't muster any words as she allowed herself to sink to the wooden floor, sobbing. _They were okay,_ she realized. Satoshi, Ms. Yui, Mayu, Seiko, Naomi, Morishige, and Yuka... They were all back at the school. It was a relief. That meant that they didn't have to look for them or come across their dead bodies. That meant they didn't have to suffer. Though, a bitterness flowed through the relief as she couldn't help but ask _why did Yoshiki and her have to suffer?_

Yoshiki felt the same scramble of emotions as Ayumi. While it meant no one else would have to go through this, why were Ayumi and him the only ones sent to suffer? Had they done something differently than the rest?... _"I know what your thoughts are, yet, I can't answer them... I'm sorry."_ Yoshiki didn't want to feel bitter about this news, but he couldn't help it. Why was it just them? Ayumi in particular... Though, before he sulked on his thoughts, he had another question for this spirit. **"Wait... why is it always a group? What exactly gets you sent here?"** he asked, even though he had an idea. It was the only thing they had done differently that day... but, they all had done it... So...

Ayumi choked by her sobs to silent tears of relief, and admittedly, anger. The soul held thoughtfully silent for a moment. _"You don't know? If you mess up the 'Sachiko Ever After' charm, you end up here,"_ it said. Ayumi froze, her mind flashing to the image of the Sachiko charm she printed out and insisted they did... How did the mess it up? She told them exactly what Naho's blog had instructed for the charm. The guilt hit her hard, hanging her head as she felt the fault lie on her shoulders. Her interest in occult stuff... her suggesting to do the charm... if she hadn't done it, they wouldn't have had to suffer. They could all have just wrapped up cleaning up after the cultural festival and have gone home. Now, Yoshiki was being forced to go through all this because of _her._

Yoshiki went silent, glancing over at Ayumi. _Go on! She probably blames herself... You can't just let her sit there like that_, he told himself, trying to urge himself forward, past his failure to help her last time. He took a deep breath and sunk down to his knees next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.**"Hey, Ayumi! No one could have seen this coming... You shouldn't pin this all on yourself,"** he told her, trying to convey that he didn't blame her, not at all. No one would have, if they had been taken to this horrible place too. This was never a consequence they could have prepared for, especially for harmless charms. There was no reason for her to think the blame should be hers and hers alone.

Ayumi looked at Yoshiki when she felt his arm wrap around her shoulder. She felt a bit confused, because she had been sort of expecting him to lash out. She knew Yoshiki had a temper, and she would've understood his anger at her for putting them in this situation. He seemed calm, and he definitely wasn't blaming her. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she used her sleeve, or rather his jacket, to wipe tears away.**"Thank you, Yoshiki,"** she said quietly and gratefully. She wasn't sure if she could toss out the guilt she was feeling, but the fact he wasn't blaming her made her feel like she could bear it.

Yoshiki smiled back at her, not feeling the need to respond further. He looked back over to the spirit, but it was already gone. It didn't stay long... but that was probably all the information it had for them. He stood with a sigh, offering Ayumi his hand to help her up, while thinking of what they could do. But then again, when you didn't know where what your looking for is, did it really matter which they held in top priority? Though, now with this new information, they didn't have to worry about their friend's safety or even have to spend time looking of a way to meet up with them. That meant their only agenda was getting out, and if Naho was correct, they were well on their way.

Ayumi accepted the offer of his hand, letting him help pull her back up onto her feet. She glanced around, noticing with disappointment the soul was gone. She was going to ask it where the little boy had been... now they would just have to... eh, hope, he would come around. She really didn't want to face the ghost, though. It was unavoidable if they were really going to try and escape the dimension, though. **"I guess we'll just head for the second wing now?"** she questioned. **"Although, I really wish we knew where the boy ghost was..."** she mentioned with a sigh. Even if she wasn't the one carrying it, just being aware of a human tongue nearby was making her more uneasy than usual.

Yoshiki sighed, completely agreeing. He didn't want to carry around a tongue for a prolonged amount of time. Even though chasing down the ghost that he had almost died to was crazy, it was the only thing to do with this... body part. **"Sounds like a plan,"** he said, turning and going back towards the stairs. However, a blue light emanating from the Infirmary caught his eye, causing him to stop. Huh? There wasn't anything in there a moment ago... He approached carefully, peeking inside. The light was behind the curtains on the bed, and was larger than the small orb spirits. He looked over to Ayumi. **"I think... he's in here,"** he said slowly and quietly. He did want to be rid of this tongue, but he didn't want to approach the ghost._Ugh, just get it over with... You just have to believe that this will work, and don't think about the consequences of failure_, he tried to tell himself, and eventually it worked. He slowly walked in, going around the curtains and seeing the ghost boy sitting there, just staring at the ground. He didn't yet seem wary of their presence, which was a little comforting, but not by much. Even though he put himself in charge of this whole operation, he was frozen, too afraid to fully approach the spirit.

Ayumi froze as Yoshiki informed her he found the ghost. Despite her want to see him a minute ago, she felt herself become very hesitant at the prospect of going in front of the violent spirit. She gulped, followed Yoshiki slowly with uncertainty. Ayumi began to shake as they stood beside the ghost that seemed focused on the spot in front of him. They had to do this, though. Otherwise, they would never get home. **"I think... we have to put the tongue in his field of vision,"** Ayumi said in a whisper. The ghost didn't seem interested in the two, not even acknowledging their presence. The idea of the ghost suddenly becoming violent was whirling in her mind. She could just remember the fit of rage the ghosts had that led to Mitsuki's awful, awful death.

Yoshiki nodded hesitantly, finally being able to go forward. Once he faced the ghost, he quickly held out the bag, but he didn't quite look like the picture of courage. Every inch of him was trembling, especially the arm that held the severed tongue. **"Th-this is yours, right?"** he asked, gesturing it towards the ghost boy, **"Yoshizawa Ryou...?"**_"?!"_ The boy looked shocked as his name was called. He finally stood, hesitantly taking the bag and peering inside. His face seemed to brighten as he took the tongue out of the bag, placing it back inside his mouth. He smiled at the two, holding the bag close._"...Thank you."_ He then disappeared, and the earth began to shake once again.**"Uwah?!"** Yoshiki lost his balance slightly, but caught himself on the end of the bed. What... just happened? What did that do?

Ayumi watched breathlessly as Yoshiki approached the ghost, worry clouding her brain. But, the ghost happily accepted his tongue disappearing. She let out a huge breath of relief, amazed that it _worked._ But, before she could fully appreciate the situation the earth began to shake violently under her. She gasped, trying to remain on her feet. The shaking slowly stopped, and she regained her balance. **"I... I think that was the dimension starting to break or reattaching closed spaces,"** Ayumi said with uncertainty. **"Either way... I think we're on the right path,"** she said happily.**"We may actually get home,"** she realized with a shaky smile. As much as they kept saying they'd get home, this was the first time that there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

Yoshiki stood and slipped off the bed after the shaking ceased, glad to be rid of the bloody bag, and to be seemingly on the right path. **"I think so too,"** he said with a slight smile, **"If we do this another... what, two times? This place should disappear then, right?"** He was getting hopeful. For the first time, their plan for getting out just wasn't all talk. This actually looked like it'd work! And they would get to go home! One thing was for certain: they couldn't let this school get the best of them when they were so close to getting out. They had friends and lives to get back to,,, and a new closeness that he really treasured. They could'nt die having come this far! **"Well, let's hurry and find the next thing,"** he said, fueled with a new flame of hope. He still didn't want to hold body parts, but now he knew it was actually going to help them. Only question was how long it'd take them to scan this place with the doll... He felt like he was going over a huge beach with a metal detector in hope of finding treasure... **"So... Second Wing next?"** he asked, making sure their prior plan was still set.

**"Right, second wing,"** Ayumi responded cheerfully. Two more tongues and two more returns and they'd be done. As she moved back into the hallway, eager to keep moving, she suddenly remembered a detail that made her stop dead cold in the center of the hallway. She blinked slowly, glancing over to Yoshiki. **"The article had said four children had died, though, didn't it?"** she questioned, unsure if her memory was faulty. Although, from the pictures of the children... yeah, it had definitely been four. Although... maybe the fourth didn't pass on into this realm? She wasn't sure why that one child wouldn't... but they hadn't seen anything from the last child. **"Maybe it doesn't matter..."** she remarked thoughtfully. **"Like a machine... if you take enough parts out, it'll stop working. Maybe the dimensions work similarly..."**She didn't sound confident in her thoughts. Still, they'd know if they gave all three kids their tongues and they got nothing but an earthquake out of it.

Yoshiki paused for a moment, thinking back on all they had learned. **"Yeah, there was, wasn't there?"** he recalled, rubbing the back of his head, **"We didn't get to know what happened to her, though."** The article they had found that gave the most information about the killings had been torn before it got to the fourth victim, or even third. There was still a lot they didn't know, but he didn't really care about the history of place. He just wanted to get out. So collecting this stuff was all they needed to do. **"If nothing happens after the third, I guess we simply keep looking for a fourth part,"** he said with a shrug. Everything seemed so simple now that they had a clear objective that seemed to work. He left the Infirmary and continued down the hall, finally reaching the stairs and going back into the darkness. He still kept his ears open for the crying of the doll in case there was anything on the first floor before they left to the second wing.

Ayumi nodded, knowing that what he said made sense. No point in getting frazzled about a lack of information... they'd work with what they had and figure things out from there. As they walked in silence, her mind drifted back to their friends. How did they manage to avoid being pulled in? There was definitely an earthquake... she could hardly recall what happened in those frazzled seconds. She was happy to know they were all okay... She had such an intense desire to see them all again and regain the normalcy she had taken for granted hours and hours ago. Maybe... when they got back... she'd just tell Mochida. Her face lit up red from just imagining it. A confession seemed impossible to muster, even after facing everything in Heavenly Host. Rejection was a scary thought... Satoshi was nice enough that she knew he'd let her down easy... But, she didn't want to be rejected. There was the slim chance he'd accept her feelings, but she wasn't sure she was willing to gamble their friendship. Plus, she wasn't blind to Satoshi and Naomi and how they acted around each other. She let out a heavy sigh, her brain muddled with feelings that felt like trying to walk through a swamp.

Unbeknownst to Ayumi, Yoshiki had almost exactly the same problem. Being faced with rejection was a scary thought, even more so to him. Her love for Satoshi was painfully obvious, so a letting down would be inevitable, but he was risking a lot more in the way of friends. He only had two people he considered real friends, and confessing would most likely lead to losing her as a one. Then, hanging out with Satoshi would be painfully awkward... Would that lead to him pushing Satoshi away because of Ayumi? Gah, this was only frustrating him. He seemed to sigh exactly as Ayumi did, deciding to think about something else.

As they entered the second wing, the air seemed to thicken and his mind instantly became unfocused. There was definitely something different about this side compared to the other, but they had to brave it. With only a little of searching, he heard the doll begin to cry yet again. He quickly pulled it out, afraid they might miss the clue to the whereabouts of the item.

_'in the dragon room, under the desk where the delinquent sits'_

That one was more vague than the last clue... He looked to his his right, seeing the outline of a classroom door in the darkness. Ok, so it was in this classroom, but what did it mean by 'where the delinquent sits'? Maybe he'd understand better once inside. He pulled the door open, walking inside. As he did, the lights flickered on, hurting his eyes for a second. Once they readjusted, he observed the room. There were four rows where seats would go, only each row only had one desk, positioned in a random spot. The front row had the desk aligned with the podium, the second row seat seemed completely unimportant, the third row seat was next to the window, and the fourth was closest to the door. Great, a puzzle...

Ayumi's brain felt foggy as they entered the second wing, her mind felt less controlled. She knew she'd have to push through it though, even if she really just wanted to stay in the previous building with the thinner air. Ayumi's eyes looked to Yoshiki as the doll began to weep. She frowned when he pulled it out and it gave a vague clue. She followed him into the room, flinching as her eyes burned from the new light source. Ayumi crossed her arms as she examined the room, trying to figure out what the doll meant by _where the delinquent sits._ She genuinely didn't understand and found herself wishing for the simple animals and pace clues. There weren't many options as far as it went to desks... so maybe they could get it from guessing. **"I... don't understand,"** Ayumi admitted. What does a delinquent have to do with anything? It was the teacher's soul in the doll, right? Maybe the teacher was thinking of a difficult child? Still, how did the doll expect them to get that? She must be overlooking something.

Yoshiki couldn't depend on Ayumi's smarts this time, it seemed. He sighed, rubbing his head as he tried to think on it as best as he could. Where the delinquent sits... He had been referred to one of those a while ago, so maybe he'd know this? He just needed a little time to think on it... Sits... in class, he guessed. After assuming that, he tried to think about where he used to sit in the first year of high school and throughout Elementary, mostly. The front? No, that's where the brown nosers sat, as he used to call them. The middle? Nah, those were your average students, who tried, but only to the absolute minimum. The third row, next to the window was where the daydreamers sat. They usually didn't focus on class too much, but they weren't a delinquent... The back... of course. He had sat there many times, the farthest from the teacher, and therefore got the least attention. Perfect place for sleeping through class, causing mischief, and getting out of class first at the school bell. He wasn't exactly proud of this knowledge, but it did help in the riddle. He was pretty sure he was right.

Without sharing his ideas, he went to the back of the class, putting the doll back into his pocket as he pushed at the desk. It scooted slowly across the rotted floor with a dull screech, but was eventually moved out of the way. He examined the floor, the boards already had a pretty sizable hole in them. He took a deep breath, reaching in the hole of unknowns yet again, and finding a similar bag to the first. He pulled it out, already knowing what was in it as he stood. Only difference was... **"Tokiko... Tsuji."**

Ayumi's brow furrowed as she tried to toss around ideas in her mind. None of them seemed to stick, though... She was broken out of her thoughts when Yoshiki moved to a desk. She tilted her head, watching curiously as he retrieved the bag. She tried to ignore the fact that there was indeed a human tongue in it. **"Wow, you figured it out,"**Ayumi admired. She was about to suggest just looking under every desk, since there was no penalty. Luckily they didn't have to waste time doing that. She paused when she heard the name. **"Oh... we could pick out the boy easily... but which of the girls is that?"** she asked. **"I don't think a ghost would appreciate getting the wrong tongue back,"** she realized. Hell, they may even react to the wrong tongue as they did to the doll's apology. Violently. They'd have to find a labeled article or something... or just guess.

Yoshiki wished he could be happy he got it right, but it just wasn't coming. **"Ah, well, yeah... but I'm not exactly**_**proud**_**of how I did,"** he admitted, but shook the thought off. He examined the name, trying to think back if they had ever labeled the pictures of the victims... and they didn't that he could recall. **"I... have that same feeling,"** he muttered, feeling the stakes rise at an actual choice they had to make that may be life or death. If they offered the tongue and said the name to the wrong ghost, they certainly wouldn't be happy about it. **"Which... do you think it is?"** he asked hesitantly, wondering what her opinion was. He couldn't decide on an answer, so maybe she could.

Ayumi felt confused at his first comment, then she realized his connection with delinquents and how he probably managed to figure it out. Ayumi stared at the bag at his question. _Tokiko Tsuji. Tokiko Tsuji. Tokiko Tsuji._ She continued to repeat the name in her head, as if it would trigger her memory. **"I... don't want to guess. I think we should just find an article or something... It would be a shame for it to end because we were too lazy to fact check,"** she explained. She knew the article was back in the library, which had their names? She hadn't paid too much attention to those details, so she couldn't remember. She really should have folded up the stupid piece of paper and brought it with her. She sighed, the library was backtracking _again_, though. They needed to know which ghost to give it to, though. **"Maybe we should just head back to the library real quick? Grab the article... maybe we'll run into the right ghost afterwards. They seem to hang around in the main building more."**

Yoshiki felt a little silly after she mentioned the guess work. He guessed that would've been pretty stupid... He really shouldn't mind going back if it meant getting the correct ghost without just being lucky. **"Uh, yeah, that sounds good,"** he agreed, but was a little curious as to why they hadn't taken the slip with them... Oh well, no use thinking on their past actions, rather on what they were going to do next. **"Let's go back, then... I just hope we don't run into one on the way,"** he mentioned. It would be awful if they ran into one before getting to the library. What if they were blocking their path? That would be peachy... and most likely, actually. Most of the time, it seemed like the ghosts were trying to stop them, for whatever reason.

Ayumi agreed with a light hum, hoping they wouldn't have to dodge the ghost. She left the classroom, following down the hall they had just come from. She was actually relieved to get out from the second wing. There was a heavier air that made her feel like she was on the brink of going insane. Once out of the second wing, her mind felt much clearer. Though, she knew they'd just be coming back. She realized that by getting rid of one of the ghosts, the place was actually safer. She just wondered if what they were doing would free anyone stuck in this dimension or just her and Yoshiki would make it out... So many questions. She sighed, letting her mind drift back to more frivolous things as she anticipated getting home. Her mind found its way back to Satoshi pretty quickly, a small realization dawning on her. She glanced at Yoshiki nervously. **"Hey... Yoshiki, can I ask you something... kinda random?"** she inquired, trying to stay neutral but her entire body screamed how unsure she was. Her face was already burning red, and she hadn't even asked the actual question yet.

Yoshiki, while relieved to get out of the thick air, disliked all this backtracking and looking. He wasn't a very patient person, and this was really testing his nerves. Though, as they walked, he looked to Ayumi as she began to talk once more. **"Besides that one? Sure, shoot,"** he answered simply, not exactly anticipating anything weird or hard to answer. Their conversations had gotten a lot more lax and normal as their time here went by, so he assumed it'd be life outside of Heavenly Host, trivial things. After all, the hope of getting out and talk about what they'd do after raised their spirits, while just discussing the dreary death of the school weighed them down. He figured this was common knowledge to the both of them, so he didn't expect anything he'd have to think too hard on.

Ayumi glanced aside, nervously. She felt very elementary-school-like by the upcoming question. Still, she was close enough to Yoshiki at this point that it wouldn't be too weird a question to ask? Now that she thought of the question, though, she couldn't bear to not ask. Maybe she did have a chance with Satoshi... and she certainly would want to know if she did. **"You're good friends with Mochida, right?"** she asked, though it was a rhetorical question. She knew the two of them were good friends. **"Has he... ever said anything about me to you?"** she asked quickly. Her face felt like it was burning from the embarrassment of the question. It was basically admitting to her crush on Satoshi, which she wasn't sure others knew about or not.

At the moment the actual question came about, Yoshiki felt himself lose every ounce of cool and calm that he had. He frowned, torn on how to answer. He hated the cruel fact that she had even asked him in the first place, but he wouldn't be too harsh with his answer. There was no need for it... But, how did he tell her no in a way that didn't totally crush her spirit? He looked to the floor, disheartened himself, but still determined to keep her from being in the same spirits. **"Errm... well... not to... me,"**he said slowly. It was difficult for him to leave hope for her love, while dashing his own into the dust, **"But we... uh... hardly ever discuss stuff like that, so..."**

Ayumi let out a sigh, disappointed. She didn't know what she was expecting, Mochida was most likely interested in Naomi. It felt like a rock in her stomach as she thought of it, jealousy burning in the pit of her stomach. **"He likes Nakashima, doesn't he?"**she asked, obviously upsetting herself. The only person she's ever really discussed Mochida with was her sister, who was a complete outsider on everything. She could tell by the nervous way Yoshiki was talking that he was just trying to be nice and spare her feelings... She knew she wasn't going to confess at that moment. It would just lead to a humiliating rejection that would make everything awkward. It wasn't fair, though? Why was he interested in Naomi and not her?

**"I... wouldn't know,"** Yoshiki said quietly, still focusing on the ground. He found this subject incredibly depressing, but he didn't want that to transfer to their overall mood. If they fell into another long silence, he wasn't sure his brain could handle it anymore.**"But... even if he does... that doesn't mean his views won't change... We're only in high school. The first crush is hardly ever the last,"** he said, attempting to at least brighten Ayumi's out look on the whole thing. This was also a fact for himself. Just because Satoshi liked Naomi now, didn't mean he wouldn't view Ayumi differently in the future. Again, he found himself tipping the scales of his hopes versus Ayumi's.

**"Maybe..."** Ayumi responded with a crestfallen expression. She found it hard to believe Satoshi would suddenly flip-flop who he likes... it couldn't be that easy for such feelings to go away and be replaced. She played with the hem of her shirt to relieve some nervous energy. Sure, crushes would come and go, but Satoshi didn't seem like the type of guy who would go from one to another. He was loyal. She could honestly see him spending the rest of his life with his first girlfriend. Mochida Naomi._Ugh._ **"Sorry, it was stupid to bring this stuff up,"** she apologized, wanting to get away from the conversation. She felt embarrassed and childish.

Yoshiki finally lifted his head, looking ahead at Ayumi. Haaa, once again, he had failed to rise her spirits, despite sacrificing his own... He'd never get the hang of this... He'd be a terrible boyfriend, he had a feeling. **"It wasn't stupid. Anything to get our minds off of this place, right?"** he asked with a small laugh, but he certainly wasn't feeling the joy he was trying to portray. **"Sorry about giving bad news, though..,"** he said, rubbing the back of his head, trying everything in his arsenal to keep this from turning into an awkward silence, at least until they made it to the library.

**"I had a feeling,"** Ayumi admitted lightly with a shrug. She was trying to appear nonchalant, but the thought of Naomi and Satoshi together made her blood boil. That's probably how things would end up going, though. Especially with Seiko in Naomi's corner. **"I'll just ride it out the rest of the year... it'll be easier once i'm far away for most the year... Crushes don't last forever, right?"** she asked with a sigh. She really wanted a tub of ice cream and a nice romantic movie. **"It's just... I don't think I'll ever feel this way again,"** she mumbled. Which may sound dramatic, but she found it hard to like any men. Especially the older she got...

**"It... depends..,"** Yoshiki answered, his tone growing more and more solemn as the conversation grew on, though this could have been misread as his lack of a love interest. Though, at her next words, he let a harsh breath out, but quickly covered it up as a cough. There it was... confirmation of his never-ending unrequited love... Though, he could understand. He was finding it hard to gain interest in other girls. There was just a genuine feeling he felt when he was around Ayumi, and it wasn't diminishing over the two years it had been present. Still, he had to carry the talk. **"Why not?"** he asked, but his tone sounded disinterested or spaced out.

Ayumi glanced at him, unable to pinpoint the exact emotions his tone was suggesting. He must be so bored by this talk, she figured. Guys weren't exactly interested in talking about such aspects in their lives, right? Unless they were bragging about conquests... Her eyes focused to the ground in front of her before she answered. **"I don't like adults, especially men."** She paused, realizing how odd that sounded. **"I don't trust them,"** she added for clarification. Her arms crossed over themselves, hugging under her chest.

Yoshiki looked back ahead, going silent for a small moment as he tried to think of what he could say in response. She didn't trust them... Perhaps it came from her dad or a relative, who betrayed her somehow? Maybe her dad walked out on her family... That seemed to cause a lot of problems for some people. **"So... Satoshi is trustworthy..,"** he mentioned, putting it together on her reasoning, **"... and... you haven't met another that you trust? I guess... that's understandable..."** Another pain shot in his heart. So was he regarded as... untrustworthy?... He didn't like what this subject was doing to him, per say. **"Though, if you don't mind my prying... Why do you find it so hard to trust guys?"**

Ayumi's eyes were shadowed by her bangs as he asked what made those feelings come about. Why didn't she trust them? Her mind was tossing as it tried to avoid the memories. Her mouth felt like it went dry as she struggled with an answer. **"It's... not important. Just... something that happened,"** she said, remaining purposefully vague. Her heart was starting to race in the same way it had when they encountered corpses. Perhaps it was poetic, given the fact it was making her look at those skeletons in her closet. She had never told anyone... She couldn't. Still, there was still the looming threat of death in this place... maybe it would be good to finally... but she couldn't. Her breathing was becoming shallow as her mind conflicted on what to proceed with. She felt shame burning in her brain.

Yoshiki immediately regretted asking as Ayumi struggled with the answer. The best thing he could think to do next is take his question back. **"That's... fine. You don't have to be specific with me,"** he said quickly, his tone slightly panicked as if he had thought he had made a serious mistake in asking, **"J-just didn't want everything to go silent again... Sorry for asking."** He had a feeling the thing he was trying to avoid was coming upon them very soon. He should have switched the subject..._You're so stupid... Stupid, stupid!_ he scolded himself as his eyes went back to the floor. Though, they were nearing the library, so maybe the subject could be easily forgotten once they got their hands on what they needed.

Ayumi glanced at him, feeling bad for making him sound a bit panicked. She wasn't mad at the question. She was just afraid of answering it. **"I-no... it's just..."** Ayumi was struggling to find her voice. She grew silent for a moment, her thoughts colliding as she finally came to her conclusion. **"I don't want to die without having told anyone,"** she admitted, trying to suppress shivers. **"I was...,"** her voice hitched. This was hard. **"When I was younger, my dad's friend from work would babysit me. My parents liked having one day a week when they could go out, and Sis normally had plans with her friends,"** Ayumi explained, her words being spoken quicker than her natural pace. **"So, every week, my dad's friend would come and babysit me... it was innocent enough. He had been nice... let me stay up late, even watch some movies my parents really didn't want me seeing. But then... things slowly became weird... he would ask me to sit on his lap during movies,"**her voice was trembling. No, no, just get it out. No turning back. He could probably guess where it was going from what she had explained so far anyway. **"Things became worse..."** she said in a hushed tone. She couldn't use the actual word or tell an actual description. Her face was a deep red from shame and embarrassment. **"I... never told anyone. He said... things so I wouldn't. He was eventually fired from my dad's work for stealing or something..."** her voice trailed as she came to the end of the explanation. She wasn't sure how to end it off. Her eyes her focused on the ground, silent tears streaming down her face.

Yoshiki went deathly silent, feeling his world stop ever so slightly. Ayumi... had been...? He became breathless with shock, and also an intense fury. His hands began trembling, eager to strangle such a disgusting excuse for a human being... but... this anger wouldn't help him here, and he had to calm down... Though, if he ever found this guy, there was no doubt he'd go into a blind rage... no doubt he wouldn't hold himself back. But right now, he was only with Ayumi, who was reliving a very tragic event that he had no idea how to save her from. His very core was stricken with dread, and he had no ground to even start with helping her through this. She had chosen the wrong first person to tell... but just because he was lost didn't mean he wouldn't try, for her sake.

Still silent, he picked up pace until he was beside her, grabbing her hand tightly in an attempt to communicate that he was here for her, something he couldn't manage to say out loud in the situation. His eyes were focused on the ground as well, his grasp tightening lightly as he thought, his hand shaking in pent up anger. _Son of a bitch... asshole... bastard!_ he cursed in his head, the stream continuing until he came to a new conclusion, _That won't ever happen again, Ayumi... I swear it on my life._

Ayumi looked at her hand when she felt Yoshiki's grasp it. She squeezed his hand back, grateful for his presence. It was a lot to tell someone, and she really did appreciate the gesture. She observed his light shaking and expression, blinking slowly as she realized he was angry. **"T-thanks for listening, Yoshiki,"** she said, her voice quivering slightly. She wiped away her tears with her free arm. **"I know it's a lot to put on you..."** she acknowledged. She couldn't say she regretted finally saying it aloud... even if she didn't use the exact words. The secret had been burning in her mind for so many years, it was a relief to finally tell someone what happened. Still, she felt bad putting such a thing on him.

Yoshiki finally made eye contact with Ayumi, feeling only more aggression as he saw how upset she had become by even mentioning the tragic event. **"Anytime,"** he said in a hushed voice, offering a sympathetic smile. _Thank you for trusting in me enough to share something like that_, he thought, after calming down a little. Surely, if he was distrusted, she wouldn't had confined in him so openly... right? That didn't mean he had a chance with her romantically, but it _did_ make him feel better. Maybe that meant at least their friendship wouldn't be easily broken.


	14. Chapter 14

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, Kensuke, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

Some things in the original story line are drastically changed, otherwise it would mostly be a repeating of the game. If you see something different, or if an area is in the wrong place, you do not need to inform me.

* * *

Yoshiki traveled the rest of the way in silence, but still held onto her hand, and he probably would keep grasping until she showed a sign of wanting to get loose. They entered the library, and the slip was still laying where they had left it. He approached it, but didn't inspect it, since both of his hands were busy, and he didn't feel like freeing either of them of their duty. Ayumi's hand was really warm, and it gave him a fluttering feeling in his chest. The other item wasn't so pleasant, but he didn't really want to put it down, for reasons he wasn't quite sure of.

Ayumi gave a weak, but sincere, smile as he replied. She was glad she told him. She relaxed in the silence as they continued to walk, since there was no more to be said. His presence was enough anyways, she didn't want a long discussion. As they came into the library, Ayumi grabbed the piece of paper with her free hand. She examined the picture with the name labels under it. **"Tokiko Tsuji was the one who had the top of her head... removed..."** Ayumi said, hesitant on what word to use to describe it. She wondered if the ghost girl would have any use for her tongue. The boy had regained his ability to speak, but that seemed like it would be impossible for her. Maybe it was more about regaining what was your's, though. She glanced along the libraries walls once again, just to make sure they don't miss any details. She folded the article and slipped it into her pocket.

Yoshiki nodded. It wouldn't be easily forgotten, but he guessed they did need to keep the paper just in case.**"Good... Now, we just have to find her,"** he said with a small sigh, tapping his foot on the floor in slight impatience. He wished these ghosts had a pattern, or somewhere they just stayed at. He had a feeling they had gotten particularly lucky with Ryou. **"Haa, well... let's get started."**He began to leave the library, figuring the first floor was where they should start... however, he didn't expect it to actually work. Only... both Tokiko and the one with the eye missing were pacing around, like zombies, out for blood.

Approaching a ghost who was spaced out? No problem, sort of... But when it's constantly walking, with another that could be sneak attacking him... Man, this school loved to make things so inconvenient. He cautiously stepped forward, trying to be quiet so as to not attract the ghost's attention, especially the one they didn't have business with. Luckily, as he slowly went forward, the other, older looking girl walked down the hall and disappeared out of sight. He jumped on the opportunity and approached the girl with the grotesque mutilation, feeling a bit sorry for her. Did she feel pain constantly like everyone else? That... was pretty tragic. He held out the bag, trying to take care of this quickly in case she decided to try and kill him before he even got what he wanted to say out.

Catching sight of him, she was starting to come up to him at an unsettling pace, her intentions probably not good in the slightest. **"Tokiko Tsuji?"** he quickly asked, and it succeeded in halting her. She lifted her hands up to her face, giving the impression she was surprised, but all the noises that came from her were only gurgles. **"This... is yours, isn't it? We're returning it..."** She seemingly inspected the bag presented to her transparent face. She took it and stepped back after opening it, shocked. She grabbed the tongue out of the pouch, putting it back in her gaping mouth. It somehow attached itself back to her throat, but she could only show glee with her body movement. She approached Yoshiki and hugged his arm, her way of saying thanks, and then she, too, disappeared. The school shook with unhealthy creaks, this one lasting longer than the prior earthquakes.

Ayumi nodded, just hoping they'd be able to find the ghost girl quickly. She was getting more and more eager for home with every step. She also was pretty desperate for a shower at this point, but she pushed that thought away. She followed Yoshiki to the first floor, surprised but oddly pleased when they saw the ghosts. She was still scared of them... but with the tongue in tow, it was less terrifying. Ayumi watched quietly as Yoshiki gave the tongue back, the ghost child expressing glee. She wondered how long it had been that the kids had only felt pain. It was nice, to give them some relief. She was a little creeped out by the ghost girl hugging Yoshiki, but she was incapable of expressing gratitude any other way. **"Eep!"** Ayumi squeaked when the earth began to shake, forgetting about that detail. She grabbed Yoshiki's arm to keep herself from falling over and out of reaction to grab something sturdier than she is. She relaxed a little once the shaking died off. **"Two down,"** she said with a smile. One more, hopefully, and they could go home.

Yoshiki fought to keep his balance, but ultimately made it. His arm still felt a little twitchy, after the girl hugged it. It was really creepy, but satisfying that she was happy, at least. He looked to Ayumi, finally noticing she was rather clingy on his arm as well. Ugh, the fast pace of his heart hurt his chest every time it happened. He was too excited for his own good. He cleared his throat to get rid of the slight embarrassment he felt, deciding to go on as normal. **"Y-yeah,"** he agreed, looking around. **"I think... we should go back to the second wing. We only got to look at a little of the first floor,"** he proposed, though he doubted the last tongue would be as easy as the other ones had been. There was bound to be a catch.

Ayumi pulled away from his arm with a small blush, nodding. **"Sounds good,"**she responded, grabbing his hand once again and began to walk. The warmth from his hand kept her grounded in this place, especially if they were going back to the thick-aired second wing. She allowed the silence to stretch as they walked as her mind began rushing ahead. One tongue, the last girl, and they'd be home! Her heart swelled from the very idea of her own bed, her sister, her classmates, her desk, and being far, far away from any corpses.

Getting back to the second wing had no hitches, with only one ghost they knew of wandering around, Ayumi was beginning to feel more and more confident. Even if she did have a lot of questions about this place, she would rather figure them out when at home. Or, she was okay with the mystery always existing, as long as they got out. She walked by the door where they had gotten the second tongue and onto the next door. Her hand hesitated at pulling the door handle when she heard muffled crying. She looked at Yoshiki with confusion. **"Is it crying again?"** she asked, very confused. There was no way the two tongues would be on the same floor, right? It seemed almost too good to be true.

Yoshiki paused for a second, trying to hear the cries for himself. He took out the doll and, for sure, it was crying again. It took it a moment to get out the actual clue, and he assumed this one would be even more riddle-like than the last.

_'to unlock the desk, take what belongs to the fallen friend'_

Yoshiki had no clue where to even begin with a clue like that! He just stared at the doll in confusion, looking to Ayumi. **"What... the Hell did that all mean?"** he asked, hoping she'd know more about this whole desk and fallen thing.

Ayumi frowned, frustrated by all the riddles. She repeated what the doll said a couple times. _Desk... desk... key... desk-_ **"The Principal's Desk!"** she realized with a jolt. She fell silent as she opened the door, a sense of dread coming over her as she pulled the door open. She flinched as she saw Kurosaki's body. **"Kizami killed him and pushed him down the hole, I think,"** Ayumi mumbled. She covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve, the smell of decay already tainting the room. **"He must be the fallen friend... which means he has the key to the desk,"** she said slowly. She walked deeper into the room, until she was standing over him. She flinched, guilt hitting her that maybe she could have prevented this. She had been just outside the room... doing nothing. Now they had to grave rob his body? It was too cruel.

Yoshiki watched Ayumi curiously as she entered the room, following her closely behind. He flinched at the smell, finding it hard to believe this guy was already decaying. He looked to her again as she continued to explain, finally getting him to understand the clue. **"So we have to... steal from him? How... morbid,"** he said with uncertainty, not sure if those were the words he wanted to use. He glanced at her expression, feeling that he should probably be the one to do this part. **"Would you... rather me get it?"** he asked hesitantly , putting the doll back into his pocket so he didn't have to hear it weep.

_Yes._ **"No, it's fine, I can do this,"** Ayumi said with feigned confidence. She made Yoshiki do so many gross things, such as carry the tongues around. The least she could do was shoulder this. She took a deep breath as she crouched down by the body, beginning to dig around into the multiple pockets in the desperate attempt to find the key. _You're touching a dead person,_ her mind reminded her cruelly. She gulped, trying to push that thought away. His body was giving off no more warmth, she realized as her hand into a pocket. He had been dead for how many hours? Her perception of time was so distorted in this place. She went into his jacket pocket slipping out the small, delicate golden key. She stood up, backing away. She held up the key between her two fingers to show Yoshiki she got it, since her voice was caught in her throat.

Yoshiki knew Ayumi was having an awful time searching the boy, but she had said she could take care of it. He wouldn't argue, but he didn't like to see her push herself so hard. After all, she had known this guy before he died. The only thing he knew about him was that he was killed by that psycho, and had been the one who warned him about Kizami. Other than that, he was completely estranged, so it wouldn't have been as bad for him, but maybe Ayumi just felt like she wasn't pulling her weight. Of course, he wouldn't accuse her of such a thing, but it was entirely possible she thought that of herself. When she rose back up with the key, he gave a slight nod.**"Alright... I hope the principal's desk is the last place we have to check,"** he said with slight hope that this ordeal was almost over.

**"If we could only be so lucky,"** Ayumi sighed. As confident as she felt with them getting out of there at this point, she didn't feel the same confidence in the desk drawer being the end of it. It was possible, though. She was happy to exit the room, the smell of death overpowering her. She hoped she could forget that smell someday. Along with the smell of burning flesh from the person they killed. Actually, she just hoped she could put this entire ordeal behind her after getting out. She knew where the principal's office was, heading straight for the stairs. Once on the third floor, she opened the door. The room was still weird, even after seeing it once before. The charms plastered all over the walls confused her, but at this point she wasn't going to question it. She slipped the key into the drawer that had been locked. She was relieved when it fit, she turned her hand hesitantly. She slowly opened the drawer, relaxing when she just saw a winder. The relaxed expression quickly changed to confusion when she picked it up. **"Looks like we aren't quite done yet..."** she observed with a frown.

Yoshiki followed her quickly to the third floor, taking in the unfamiliar room. It was certainly unsettling, but not more so than the rest of this messed up school. He approached the desk with Ayumi, looking as she pulled out some sort of... what was that, even? A winder? What did that go to? **"How are we supposed to know where it goes? Think the doll will start crying around whatever machine we plug this into?"** he asked, rubbing his head in confusion. It was such a small device, and the object they were supposed to find was probably even smaller. He was at a loss, really. He never recalled coming across anything that this might possibly go to, or what it'd lead them to.

Ayumi held the small piece of metal in her hand. It was definitely a part of a machine, if the heavy metals used to make it were any indication. **"Maybe? I actually want some sort of riddle to go off of now,"** she sighed, finger tracing the winder with her finger. She was hoping looking at it would trigger some sort of memory of such a knob or twist, but she drew a blank. She never used machines anyways. **"Well... what type of a machine would a school have?"** she asked thoughtfully. **"We haven't seen any type of machines in classrooms... that stuff is normally either on the roof or in the basement,"** she commented. Especially in an Elementary school, machines would be kept where no kids ever went or where there was always adult supervision. At this point they were closer to the roof, given the fact they were on the third floor. She wondered if it was even possible to get outside like that, though.

_"1-A... What you're looking for is hidden around 1-A...,"_said a pitiful voice.

Yoshiki spun around, the noise catching him off guard. It was another small blue spirit hovering over scattered bones, who seemed to know something about the winder.**"Th-thanks... but what exactly are we looking for? What machine could possibly be in a classroom?"** _"Hidden in 1-A... looking for... 1-A... wire... killed...,"_ the voice trailed off, the spirit turning hues. Instead of a calming blue, it was a radiant red. Yoshiki gave it a weird look, wondering what all its random statements were about._"Sliced... blood... pieces... NOOOO... DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!"_ the voice boomed in a despairing voice, the red flaring around it. Yoshiki had a bad feeling about this spirit, and felt the strong urge to run, but he was a little nervous that that would only enrage it further.

Ayumi jumped at the new voice, relaxing slightly at the sight of the blue spirit. They had been helpful so far, this one was no exception. Ayumi flinched as the blue soul turned violently red, she found herself freezing at the sight. She wanted to get away from it, unsure what it may do. She tugged lightly at Yoshiki's sleeve, eyes casting to the door. Her message was clear: _let's just go._ She didn't mean to be cold to the ghost... especially after it had given them their next location. But, she couldn't stand to be in the room with the shouts of pain.

Yoshiki nodded, completely understanding and agreeing with Ayumi's gesture. He stepped back a few steps, then pulled Ayumi quickly out of the room. As he ran, he heard more shouts. _"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!__**COME BAAAAACK**__!"_ the voice screamed, then the Principal's desk was launched at the door. Even though it was too big to fit through the opening, the force was so strong that the wood just simply exploded on impact, sending debris, large and small, towards them. Yoshiki dived down onto the floor, in a way the Ayumi was mostly underneath him. All went silent, and he sat up, glancing behind him into the office. The ghost was no longer shouting... it must have disappeared... But dammit, that was a close one... He brushed some of the dust and wood chunks off of him, looking at Ayumi.**"Are... you ok?"** he asked, breathing a little quicker than usual because of the adrenaline.

The flurry of actions left Ayumi disoriented as they hit the floor, an earth-shattering_boom_ coming from behind them. Ayumi sat up slowly, her body trembling from the noises and actions. Her breathing was haggard as she tried to assure herself that she was fine, and not crushed by a huge freakin' desk. **"I'll -pant- be fine,"** she told him with a shaky smile. Her hands swiped off some of the debris... they were so closed to be crushed to death, her heart was pounding. **"I just want to get home..."** she admitted, exhausted at this threat of death constantly looming. **"Where everything isn't out to kill us,"** she added as she stood up slowly. **"It said 1-A, right?"** she asked, still a little discombobulated from the previous event.

Yoshiki stood up along with her, still a little disoriented. He looked around at the mess around them, chunks of desk spread throughout the small hall, inside the office, and down the stairs. Wow... He couldn't imagine getting hit by that head on. **"Yeah, I'm pretty sure,"**he answered. It was hard to miss it, since it had said the class room name about three times. Sounded easy enough... They'd only have to search around one room.

As they finally found the sign that said 1-A, he slid the door open, met by very dim lights that crackled. So far, the look was coming up empty, but then he noticed a strange cabinet on the left side of the classroom, near the teacher's desk. There were scratch marks on the floor, like the object had been moved before. Worth a try... He came to it's side and pushed, eventually getting it to move with a little strain. Behind it was a door, and some sort of sniveling noise.**"?"**Was it a ghost crying? He couldn't tell... He waved Ayumi over, waiting for her before opening it.

Ayumi tilted her head as she noticed Yoshiki waving her over. As she approached, she heard the sniveling noise as well. **"Huh?"** she said, verbalizing her confusion. So far the doll has been the only thing in this place to cry, besides them. And the noise was definitely not coming from Yoshiki's pocket. She stood by Yoshiki, frowning uncertainly. After the last run-in, she was becoming much more scared of the many, many souls floating around here. The ghost children weren't the only ones out for blood. She couldn't understand what the point of killing those not even attached to your death would accomplish, though. Ghosts weren't exactly known for their logic, though. The red soul's mention of the wires... cutting... that also entered her mind as she began to feel more and more hesitant about moving on.

Yoshiki grasped the handle, preparing himself for whatever would be on the other side. With a deep breath, he jerked open the door. At his sudden action, whatever had been sniffling screamed, causing Yoshiki himself to jump. **"Wh-who's in here?"**he asked into the darkness, but only got more of a quivering voice. Whoever was in here wasn't a ghost, he had a feeling... and they were downright scared to death. He went further in so Ayumi could get a look, and maybe they could find whoever the voice belonged to. The room was really strange, narrow and straight. At the end of the room sat two dark shadows, one seemed to be shivering. It couldn't be...

**"D-don't hurt me..,"** said a small, light voice that sounded like it belonged to a little kid. **"Please,"** they begged, sniffling.

Ayumi jumped slightly when she heard a scream. She entered the room after Yoshiki moved deeper into it, her eyes widening as she realized what was the source of the noises. A kid. At least, she was pretty damn sure it was a kid. It was hard to tell, with him crouching in the back of the narrow room, but the voice and silhouette size pretty much confirmed it. She felt herself sink as she worried how the hell a kid... ah, he probably joined in with the Sachiko Ever After charm. How did so many people manage to mess it up? The thought bothered her, but she pushed it aside as she realized she had to handle the fact they found a kid. **"We aren't going to hurt you,"**Ayumi assured him, her tone gentle. She had never really been the maternal type, not for lack of desire, just because she was never around children much. She was struggling to see the kid, so she could easily assume he couldn't see them very well. She pulled out a candle, lighting it in a fluid motion to illuminate the narrow room.

Yoshiki could finally see as Ayumi lit the candle, and so could the small boy at the other side of the room. He was pretty small, had short, black hair, and his face looked a mess with his reddened eyes and nose. How... had a kid this age gotten here? Even more unbelievable... was that he was still alive, alone, and seemed still mentally sound. He didn't stand, even after seeing they were completely normal, but his face did change from terrified to hopeful.

The small boy spent a few minutes cautiously looking at the two, slowly standing with shaky legs. **"Are you guys... friends of big sister?"** he asked with a sniffle. He didn't approach them just yet, but he didn't seem as terrified as earlier.

Ayumi glanced at Yoshiki, a look of uncertainty on her face. She had no idea if she should lie to the kid or not. Her policy normally depended on the truth, but weren't you supposed to lie to kids in situations like this? **"What's your sisters name?"**Ayumi asked, keeping her voice calm and leveled. She wondered to herself if this was Emi's or Mitsuki's younger sibling... but Mitsuki would have definitely mentioned a child at some point, wouldn't she? Still, the only groups to come in recently, to her knowledge, was them and Mitsuki's group. Unless another group had just come in that they hadn't crossed paths with, which made her stomach drop. Why would so many people be coming in? Maybe she should find Naho again... she did get the charm off her blog, after all.

Yoshiki was about to bluntly say no, but luckily Ayumi spoke before him. He found it best to keep his mouth shut in this situation. He had close to no experience with little kids, so he wasn't so great at communicating with them. His harsh way of giving the hard truth wasn't very child friendly.

**"Sonohara Hana,"** the boy answered quietly, shuffling nervously and fidgeting with the end of his hoodie. He didn't really know his sister's friends. He had only met them today, when his sister had to come back to her school to help with some sort of class thing. None of their faces had become familiar to him... The only person he did know was his sister, and he couldn't find her anywhere...

Ayumi grimaced mentally when the name was completely unfamiliar. This was going to be a problem... they had such a clear path ahead of them to get out, now they couldn't just leave without his older sister, right? But she could be in another closed space or... well, dead. **"I'm sorry, we don't know your sister,"** Ayumi said, feeling it would've been too wrong to lie to the kid. **"But, if you like, you can come with us. We're friendly,"** Ayumi said with a light smile. **"I'm Shinozaki Ayumi, and he's Kishinuma Yoshiki,"** she introduced gently. She knew Yoshiki had a blunt way of speaking, so she was find speaking for both of them until the kid seemed comfortable. She would never leave the kid in here, so she had to convince him to join them. She'd think that the kid would be willing to tag along, just out of the principle that they were alive.

The boy looked at them for a moment.**"Uhm... I'm Sonohara Kito,"** he introduced back to Ayumi, slowly walking towards the two. Of course he was disappointed that the two didn't know his sister, but at least he wasn't alone anymore. **"Where am I?"**he asked slowly, still scared, but because of his surroundings, not the company. Once he finally approached them, he walked more towards Ayumi, since she reminded him of his big sister. It was probably just the long black hair, but any sense of familiarity was nice.

Yoshiki's eyes were focused on the machine in the background, finding that more interesting than the kid. **"Hey, hand me the winder. You keep talking to the kid,"**he whispered, holding out his hand for the device.

Ayumi glanced over at Yoshiki, giving a small nod as she fished the winder out from her pocket. She handed it over, turning her attention back on Kito. She smiled lightly at him when she noticed he had come closer. She crouched on the floor so she wasn't talking down to him. **"You're in Heavenly Host Elementary School,"** she explained lightly. She wasn't sure what the kid would understand and what he wouldn't. She also wasn't sure how much he has seen... especially since the kid seemed to be holding it together better than she often did. She decided to herself not to further explain the details unless he asked for it. Her occult explanations would probably just freak him out and confuse him. Maybe. She really wished she had more experiences with kids... she was the baby of her family though. Even among her cousins, she was youngest by a couple of months. While her attention was focused mostly on Kito, she kept a wary eye watching as Yoshiki approached the machine. The previous ghost had made her worry about what it would do.

**"Heavenly... Host?"**Kito asked, the name not familiar to him. How had he gotten here? And where was his sister? He didn't ask these questions though. These people obviously hadn't seen his sister, and he had a feeling this place wasn't really natural. He had never seen it around his sister's school, and he had ended up here after falling during an earthquake. He had been locked in this room, and had even seen a creepy kid that glowed blue pass through the walls. He had been in the corner of the room ever since, afraid to move to anywhere else. By now, he was incredibly hungry, thirsty, and tired...

Yoshiki approached the object carefully. It looked pretty simple, from what he could see in the faint candle light. It was small, the a handle on the side, and then a place for the winder to go. It seemed like some sort of pulley, operated by what looked like thin piano wire. He gulped, a little nervous from what the earlier ghost had been saying. Wire, killed, blood, pieces... All of those were not good adjectives... He only hoped they wouldn't have to see something like that. He inserted the winder with a small push, but heard no confirmation that it was put in correctly. Oh well, he'd find out soon enough. He grabbed the handle, turning it. It was easy for the first few circulations, but then it got a little stuck. At this sudden resistance, the winder clicked, giving the handle more to wind, like a key. There was a small shake in the school, and then a sound like something settling. _What was that?..._ he thought, carefully getting up and checking behind to make sure there were no pieces or blood of anyone. After seeing that both were ok, he let out a sigh of relief, walking back over the two. **"It did...**_**some**_**sort of something,"** he said with a confused shrug.

Ayumi looked at the boy with sympathy, seeing that he had to be confused. She wasn't sure how a place like this would be to young eyes. She looked over at Yoshiki, seeing him twist the winder into the machine. She flinched, not expecting to feel the school shift. She frowned in confusion as she heard the far off sound of something settling.**"What could that activate?"** she questioned as she stood back up. She dug into her memory for something that would be activated by the switch. She couldn't remember anything that stood out in such a manner. She really didn't want to look around the school in the vain hope something had changed, though at this point there was probably no choice. The doll had led them to the key to the principal's desk, which let them activate the weird machine, and now whatever had settled would bring them closer to the last tongue. **"I guess we should just head out and look around? Whatever activated is probably in this building,"** she assumed.

**"Probably. I doubt it'd activate something in the other wing,"**Yoshiki agreed, starting to head out. The way the machine was constructed didn't give them any clues to where the change was located, but the earth-shaking result might have meant that the change was big. Really big...

Kito almost fell at the unexpected shift, but managed to stay up. He came closer to Ayumi as Yoshiki began to leave, grabbing her hand to make sure she didn't forget to bring him along. **"I don't want to... stay in this room anymore,"**he said with another sniffle, wiping at his eye with his free sleeve.

Noticing the small pause in Ayumi's advances, Yoshiki backtracked slightly, staring at the kid. He knew they had to bring him along, but it seemed like such a pain. Especially since they might have to look for this sister of his. And if they were going to do that, he needed to know what he was looking for. **"Hey, what school does your sister go to?"** he asked curiously. **"Uhh... Seisei,"** Kito answered with only a small pause. **"No way...,"** he muttered, turning away quickly. Seisei... Academy for Girls? The name was familiar, but not in a good way. That meant that first room... Well, it could have been one of his sister's friends... Dammit, if only he had checked the name on the ID...


	15. Chapter 15

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

Some things in the original story line are drastically changed, otherwise it would mostly be a repeating of the game. If you see something different, or if an area is in the wrong place, you do not need to inform me.

UNDERLINED PARTS ARE PLACES WHERE THE STORY CAN DIVERGE INTO A WRONG END. READ WRONG ENDS IN AT THE SEPARATE STORY TITLED AS SUCH.

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Ayumi blinked, a little surprised as she felt the small hand grab for hers. She smiled lightly at him, relieved he was going to come along easily. She was going to say something when Yoshiki asked for the name of his sister's school. _Seisei?_ Ayumi repeated mentally, the name was pretty unfamiliar to her. Her eyes widened slightly at Yoshiki's hushed reply and turning. Had he seen a corpse with that id? Was it Kito's sister's? Her heart sank, glancing down at Kito. His sister may be dead. She wanted to ask Yoshiki what he was thinking, but their ability to communicate had been a bit cut off by presence of Kito. They didn't want to scare him. They especially didn't want to give them impression that his sister was probably dead...

**"What... is it?"**Kito asked at Yoshiki's odd response. Did he know his sister's school? Even if that was the case, why would he act that way? He didn't understand it at all...

**"Erm... nothing... nothing at all,"** Yoshiki said, rubbing the back of his neck. He knew better than to be blunt around a little kid, especially when it was about the possible death of his sibling... and definitely not a good death. **"Let's just get going,"**he said, walking off. Kito could only tilt his head. Nothing that guy did made much sense to him... Everything he tried to think about in his head didn't really add up... Maybe this guy was just weird.

Yoshiki had forgotten to tell Ayumi about his findings in the blood stained room, and he was regretting it. With Kito around, he couldn't give her the full scoop anymore. It was certainly too risky to let Kito out of their sight in a place like this, and the odds of him overhearing anything they said was pretty high... This was a new kind of inconvenience they had faced...

Ayumi frowned at Yoshiki, not liking the fact that he seemed to know something she didn't Still, there was no chance for them to talk privately with Kito around. He would be able to hear, even if they tried whispering. Plus, she didn't want to take the chance. She did want to know if they actually had to look for Kito's sister or if Yoshiki had found the body, though. As they began moving, Ayumi noticed the pace would be slowed down quite a bit. Still, they only had a single tongue and ghost left and they had to be closing in on the tongue. **"So, Kito, what Elementary School do you go to?"** she asked, figuring she should get him to start speaking about himself. It was also going to hopefully distract him a bit from the school they were in.

Kito looked up at Ayumi, then smiled. **"Reimei Elementary!"**he announced with a slight glee. He liked school, a lot! In fact, his teachers told him he was the best in the class. To get that kind of praise was always exciting, so he loved to try hard and do good on his work.

Yoshiki, who was slightly ahead but still kept his pace slow, wondered how the kid could be so happy about school. It was torture to him when he was little like him... Then, he heard a long yawn form Kito, figuring he had to be absolutely exhausted if he was here for as long as he and Ayumi had been. Even _they_ had broken down and slept, but this kid must have been too scared to.

Ayumi smiled at his enthusiasm, but it was just another school she had never heard of. She had been hoping he'd go off on a tangent or something, but this keep seemed moderately contained. In her couple of experiences with kids, normally they would continue to talk and talk. Children dominated conversations without really realizing it half the time. Then again, she realized as he yawned that he must be exhausted. **"Are you going to be okay walking around a lot?"** she asked gently, trying gauge how the kid was feeling. She had no idea if the Seisei group had been here before or after when her and Yoshiki were pulled in. She didn't exactly want to stop, but if the kid took a small nap, then at least her and Yoshiki could talk. Still, she really didn't want to stop looking... Yoshiki could carry the kid as he napped, but that left them exposed and vulnerable.

Kito nodded his head, his expression turning determined. **"Ah-huh!"** he said, but he didn't sound very convincing. He didn't want to slow these two down. They certainly seemed like they were in a hurry to go somewhere and get stuff done, so he didn't want to be a problem for them. **"I'm fine! I have lotsa energy,"** he added, puffing out his cheeks. He didn't like to be a problem for people, which mostly stemmed from his sister constantly having to cancel her own plans for him. He didn't want to be like that for everyone, if he could help it. He still had a little energy left, so he'd keep walking, no matter how sluggish he seemed.

Ayumi was unconvinced by his declaration of energy. Even with sleeping, she felt herself dragging. She only had eaten a little during the cultural festival since she had to help run the cafe the entire time, given her position as class rep. Also, water was something that was unseen in this place. She had a hard time to believe he actually had a lot of energy. **"Alright, but if you start feeling like you can't walk anymore, let us know,"** she told him. She didn't want the kid collapsing trying to keep up with her and Yoshiki. Her eyes glanced over the hallway, noticing no discernible difference. What the hell could that machine have done? She honestly had no idea or guesses.

Kito gave a small noise of understanding, feeling his eyes droop as he fought to not think about his dreariness. Figuring talking would help him, he looked up at Ayumi, examining her slightly. **"Hey, miss, why are you wearing a boy's jacket?"** he asked curiously, blinking, **"Is that your boyfriend's?"** While he _was_young, his sister had had many boyfriends, so he knew the word well, and how they usually took care of their girlfriend. Opening doors for them, always making sure they were ok, and slipping their jacket over them when they were cold. He didn't really get the meaning of the title or why guys did all this stuff. His sister wasn't disabled... she could do all that stuff just fine. Yoshiki seemed consumed in his own business, so he didn't really pay attention to Ayumi or Kito, which was strange in of itself.

Not on the first floor... Yoshiki's patience was wearing thin, and his anxiousness to get the last tongue was rising. As they ascended the stairs to the second floor, something instantly seemed off. He stopped a couple of steps out into the hall, looking down a fork in the path. **"Hey... Ayumi... was there always a hallway here, before?"** he asked, raising a brow. Was his memory really that bad? Or had that tiny machine made a whole new area appear?

Ayumi looked down as Kito began to speak, her mind stalling as it absorbed the question. _**"No,"**_ she replied quickly and forcefully, her face reddening at the suggestion. She paused, realizing she might have seemed mad at the question, so she added a small, albeit nervous laugh. **"It's nothing like that. It was just a friendly gesture since I was cold,"** she explained. Why was she getting so embarrassed? She could understand the mistake, kids tended to simplify things into certain categories. Then again, if any of their friends saw her wearing his jacket, the teasing would be nonstop. She glanced at Yoshiki, who seemed off in his own little world, which was fine by her. No need to make things awkward. As they came up the stairs, she paused, feeling something off about the halls as well. **"I... don't think so. But, that means that switch activated a new hallway...** she said in disbelief. It reminded her painfully of the many, many PSP games she has played. **"Best not to question it too much, I guess,"** she said, almost hesitant to head down the new hall.

Kito took her answer as truth, guessing there was more than one reason to giving someone else your jacket. But, it was weird. His sister's boyfriends were the only people he saw doing it... Oh well, he knew he was still lacking knowledge in a lot of areas. This was just simply something new to add to his head.

Yoshiki began walking down the foreign hall, which ended quite quickly with a large door, similar to the one that led to the foot lockers. He opened the door, and it actually led to a locker room, with showers. He could have sworn he saw a ghost run out of the room, but it was only a glimpse. **"This place just keeps getting bigger and bigger... We need to find this last piece soon, or I'll go nuts,"** he said with a frustrated sigh. At the corner of the room, there was a door that led to who knew where. He approached it and opened the door, that easily gave with a loud, metallic bang. It led to the outside! More specifically, a pool area. Ugh, he hated pools... though, that mostly had to do with the fact that he couldn't swim.

Ayumi looked surprised as they stepped outside, a cold wind ran past her. Rain hit her skin, her legs uncomfortably exposed to the elements. The last tongue must be around here? In the... pool? She walked over to the body of water, glancing in disgust as the water was a sickly green shade. It sloshed from the raindrops hitting it. It also had an awful smell, one that made her stomach turn. **"Ugh, it's disgusting,"** she commented. She definitely, definitely wouldn't want to go in that puddle of filth looking for a tongue. If it was in there, there must be a way to drain the pool. Or maybe they'd get lucky and the tongue would be easily accessible. **"Is the doll reacting?"** Ayumi asked with a small shiver, her arms hugging one another.

Yoshiki examined the weather, the rain chilling him to the bone, and the pool truly was disgusting. At Ayumi's question, he pulled the doll out of his pocket, but it wasn't reacting yet. **"No, not yet."** Even so, he was pretty sure the last tongue was here... But, for Ayumi's health, it'd probably be best... **"Hey, Ayumi, could you stay here with Sonohara?"** he asked, pretending it was to keep Kito out of the wet and cold. **"If I find anything, I'll come straight back. And if I get into any trouble, I'll call for you. Ok?"** He wasn't sure if Ayumi would go along with his plan. It's true being alone was dangerous, but he could handle it. If a ghost caught him, he'd at least be able to get out a short yell as a call for help, so it'd probably be ok.

Ayumi frowned at him, eyes narrowing flatly at the suggestion. She really didn't like the suggestion, but she didn't want her stubbornness to get Kito sick. Also, she wasn't exactly a picture-perfect example of health herself. The cold coming in was enough to send the hairs on her body on edge. **"Okay,"** she said slowly, her uncertainty clear in her voice. **"But be careful, Yoshiki,"** she told him. He could be stupid and reckless, and she didn't want him getting himself hurt, or worse killed, because of some dumb move. The threat of ghosts still wasn't gone, despite them helping two pass on.

Yoshiki smiled slightly at her. **"When am I not?"** he asked sarcastically, backing out of the shower room and shutting the door. He turned, feeling himself already getting drenched. He sighed, walking up the stairs that led to the area around the pool. The whole place itself had a large fence encircling it, but there was nothing else that really stood out. He went around the pool, careful not to fall in, and then came upon a door that was on the opposite side of the pool area. He descended the stairs and looked at the label. **"Pump room?"** he read aloud, tilting his head,**"How convenient..."** He pulled at the handle, but of course, the door was locked. At least that meant there was probably something of value in the pool or something. He backtracked, figuring there was nothing to do but go and report, until a saw a tile shifted, and underneath it was a glittering metal.**"Huh?"** he bent down and began to work the key from the ground.

Ayumi smiled lightly at his response, rolling her eyes. He could be such a smartass at times. She sighed, impatient already from waiting for him. It made sense that only one of them had to get wet, but she hated it when he left her in this place. The first time he went on his own he got chased down by a ghost and hurt his wrist. Then the second time, a ghost had appeared in front of her and Mitsuki. She sighed lightly, her mind flashing to the flesh wall. The image would never leave her. Even when they get out of this awful place, the memories wouldn't leave. The people who had already died wouldn't change, either.

_'Ayumi!'_

She looked at the door, confused. **"Stay here, Kito,"** she advised, her heart sinking. Was Yoshiki in trouble? She could swear she heard him call her out. She stepped outside, the heavy metal door clanking shut behind her. She went by the pool edge, confused and worry. Then her eyes caught sight of the water. Something pulling her towards it. She blinked, a dark silhouette was reflected in the pool. She felt like she was falling, the world going dark. Her body threw itself into the sloshing water, her vision filled with sickening green.

Yoshiki finally got the key free, but was suddenly distracted by a splash. He quickly stood, seeing ripples coming from the pool. What... the...? Very soon after, Kito came out, looking around. **"Miss?"** he called worriedly. No way... Yoshiki ran forward, glancing at the pool with panic. _What do I do?! Why did Ayumi jump in?_Thoughts flew through his head, though he knew what he would need to do. He'd have to go in after her... but... Gah! He couldn't let fear stop him now. He grabbed the railing of the ladder and swung into the murky pool.

It was a disgusting feeling, diving into this putrid muck, but he tried to pay it no mind as he ducked under where he saw the ripples. His visibility was close to zero, and his eyes were awfully irritated, but he eventually spotted a body. It took a few attempts to get a good grasp on them, in which he might have felt something he shouldn't have, but that wasn't really anything going in his head. He pulled up what he hoped to be Ayumi, reaching the surface and lifting her up to the pool siding. With his panic and adrenaline gone as quickly as it had come, he was at a danger of drowning himself, but he luckily got a hold of the ladder before getting disoriented. Kito rushed quickly to Ayumi, attempting to pull her the rest of the way out of the pool as Yoshiki flew into a flurry of coughs. **"Miss? Miss, are you ok?"** Kito called, shaking her slightly.

Ayumi's vision was green, her arms and legs refusing to kick. Her body wasn't her own to save, she realized with horror. The same numb feeling went throughout her body as her previous possessions, panic rising in her own heart. Her body tried to gasp for breath, a reaction that was only met with the green muck being sucked into her lungs. She could actually feel her lungs burning as she realized she was going to_drown._ Even as her body was grabbed and pulled out of the water, her body made no reaction to take in breaths.

Yoshiki quickly got himself together, coming out of the pool all the way and approaching Ayumi, quickly going to his knees. **"Ayumi? Ayumi?!"** he called, but instantly knew she wouldn't respond. She wasn't breathing. _No... nononono..._ He fought to stay calm as he began CPR, glad that such medical knowledge had actually benefited him. _No... no! Ayumi, we're so close! You can't die! Please, wake up! Please!_He paused a moment, to see if he was helping her at all, or if... it was a lost cause... In this wait, he held his breath, feeling himself about to break if she didn't open her eyes.

Ayumi's body suddenly jerked as she gasped for air, which sent her into a coughing fit. Her coughs eventually pushed the water out of her lungs as she coughed onto the pavement. Her body trembled as she gasp for air, her burning lungs trying to make up for the minutes of lost air. She felt disoriented, unsure of what was happened around her. Her mouth felt disgusting, algae had managed to stick to the top of it. She hesitantly pushed herself up, as she tried to gather what was going on. Then she remembered... Yoshiki's voice and the ghost possessing her. She felt her heart beating rapidly as the panic set in on what just happened.

Yoshiki felt himself relax as she gasped for air. He couldn't contain how thankful he was the school hadn't taken her away from him. He pulled her up into his arms, hugging her close to his chest. **"Thank God!"** he muttered, his heart racing from the prior fear. **"Miss! You're okay!"** Kito said with a slight smile, joining what he thought to be a group hug. He was really afraid that she was going to die, but now she was okay and breathing again!

Ayumi's face reddened as she felt Yoshiki pull her into a hug. She felt a bit bad for worrying him, he always had to suffer when she was possessed. She smiled lightly as Kito joined in on the hug. She was touched by both their concern for her. Although... a question arose as she thought back. **"Yoshiki, did you call me out here?"** she asked, confused. Was it just the ghosts tricking her? She knew she shouldn't have let him leave. It never ended well.

Yoshiki felt a blush coming on as he noticed exactly what he did, but decided not to draw attention to it. He let her go, looking at her strangely. **"Call you? I never called you,"** he answered with a confused tone, but then he looked to the ground. It was the ghosts... Goddammit... **"Sorry..,"** he muttered, realizing had they stayed together, Ayumi wouldn't have almost drowned. While she hadn't died, he was certain it was an unnecessary, terrifying ordeal for her.

**"Don't apologize,"** Ayumi told him with a light dismissive wave of her hand. He had been the one who saved her, this time and countless times prior. She couldn't muster anger at him, or even annoyance at his idea to split. Honestly, she just relieved she was alive. She felt exhausted once again, though. Hopefully she would regain energy after normally breathing for a bit. **"Did you find it?"** she asked, desperate to get home. She felt disgusting and wet, and her mouth had an awful taste in it.

Yoshiki still felt like the one to blame for the whole event, but there was no use in dwelling on it. She was ok, alive, breathing... that's all that mattered. **"Not it, but I did find a key, that probably goes to the pump room over there,"** he said, waving behind him, **"That means it's probably in the pool, or something like that."**He stood, helping Ayumi up, and Kito followed suit. They all were soaking wet, but it was only a small discomfort compared to drowning. He turned, going back to the pump room and inserting the key, turning it. It clicked, and then could easily be open. The room was a little dark, but he could still see where he was going. He examined the room, finding a wheel that most likely drained the water. He turned it, having a little trouble with getting it to move, but it finally made a sound, and then the noise of rushing water went down the pipes in the room. Now, the moment of truth.

He went back outside, seeing the pool completely empty, save... for some bodies, probably victims of the same trick Ayumi had been through. He gave a hand signal for Ayumi, to keep Kito away from seeing the gruesome sight. He slipped down the ladder, examining the floor, but nothing stood out. Until the doll began weeping as he neared a spigot that was probably used for refilling the pool. He slowly came up to it, attempting to turn it on, but only got the handle to move a little. Luckily, that's all he needed. The pipes gave a noise of attempting to spurt out some water, and with the small burst of water, came a bag that splashed onto the floor. He picked it up, feeling so close to being home. _Kanno Yuki._ Feeling accomplished, he came back out of the pool, waving to Ayumi. **"Got it!"**

Ayumi watched the pool water go down, grimacing at the gross green liquid. How much of it had she actually swallowed? The sight of bodies that were in the water made her stomach flip uneasily, to the point she was wondering if she was going to puke. She took that moment to let the rain fill her mouth, spitting it out along with some algae that had attached to the roof of her mouth. She looked over to se Yoshiki climbing out of the pool. She smiled at his announcement. **"Thank goodness. Let's hurry up and return it,"** Ayumi said with a relieved smile. They were going to get home! After all this misery and death, they would be able to get home and live their lives.

Kito was a little too short to see exactly what was in the pool. That, and Ayumi was a little in front of him, and he didn't really feel like he wanted to know. After all, Ayumi had just jumped in so suddenly... What if other people did that, but they didn't have someone to save them? He felt a little sad thinking about it, even more so at the thought that it could be his sister in such a situation...

Yoshiki came back to them, making sure to keep the bag out of Kito's sight. **"Now we just have to look for Yuki,"** he said with a smile. So close... to seeing everyone again... But, as he saw Kito, he remembered his sister. He gave Ayumi a small stare of uncertainty, wondering what they should do about it. Every moment they spent longer in here, the more likely they'd be killed so close to getting out. Same for Kito. Should they really possibly waste time looking for his sister, who may be already dead? God, he felt horribly about thinking this way, be he wanted out so desperately. And the close brush with death a moment ago reminded him that just because they were almost free, didn't mean they were out of harms way…


	16. Chapter 16

This story was written in the fashion of a role play. Some parts will be edited to flow better in the style of a story, but it will mostly remain in the same format. I wrote the parts of Yoshiki, Naomi, Yuka, Ms. Shishido, Hinoe, Tohko, Kizami, and Mayu. My friend is responsible for the parts of Ayumi, Satoshi, Mitsuki, and Sakutaro. Extra, own characters include Kito, Koga, Ito, Tanaka, and Okinawa Miki. The writing was done by us, but we do not own the franchise or characters included.

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Ayumi's excitement died away a little when she caught Yoshiki's look. She glanced at Kito, similar concerns being raised in her. She wanted to help the little boy... but it wasn't worth all three of their lives to stick around any longer than necessary. If they found Yuki, they had to go, right? Although... if it had been any of her friends... or her older sister... she could never bear to leave with the knowledge they were alive, or possibly alive. Still, they didn't know what would happen if the tongue was given to Yuki. Maybe it would release everyone who was still alive back to the normal plain?**"Right, let's get out of this rain,"** she said. Although, she had been thankful to stand around in it for a while, since it washed off that sticky, gross green water that she had unwillingly jumped into. When back into the locker room, she twisted both her twin tails to get the extra water out of them. She frowned, trying to figure out what the best course of action was. If they saw Yuki, they couldn't give up the opportunity. But, until they encountered her, maybe they should take a quick look around to find his sister?

Yoshiki attempted to smooth the water out of his hair, but that didn't work too well. Once the other two seemed ready, he guessed it was time to move, and look for Yuki. Last time he had seen her, she was down stairs, and went down the hall they were first in. **"I saw her a little while ago. I guess we'll start there,"**he announced, turning to leave. Kito followed, but was uncertain of what the two were even up to. Were they looking for his sister now? Or this Yuki person? He kept quiet, not wanting to be difficult.

After they had looked in the hall for a little bit, he stopped as he came to a classroom. The blood stained room... He wanted to look for the ID again, but that would mean leaving Kito and Ayumi alone again, which he was reluctant to do. He gave Ayumi a look, subtly motioning to the room. If she remembered which it was, she'd know what he was trying to communicate.

Ayumi nodded, eager to find Yuki. She told herself she needed to calm herself down, but the idea of getting home was getting her excited. She had been sure they were going to die in this place. She looked over at Yoshiki, catching his small motion. She looked confused at first, trying to figure out what the room he was being subtle about was. Her brain stalled, but when she realized, it was a jolt. Was that why he acted weird with Kito earlier? Was his sister the source of the blood in that room? If that was the case, they'd be fine to just move on... but how would they explain this to him? He was so young. She wanted to ask Yoshiki about the specifics, but that wouldn't be possible.

Ayumi's eyes shifted when she saw a bright blue light down the hall. It a couple of seconds, the ghost girl turned the corner and was beginning to head towards them. Her pace was slow, daunting. Her eye glazed over like a dead fishes. The wound in her other eye made Ayumi uneasy, her heart beginning to race at the sight of the ghost. This was it, though. The last barricade in their way.

There was Yuki... They had to take the chance. _Sorry, Kito..._ Yoshiki thought as he tensed, the ghost girl coming closer and outstretching her arms. _"Gihh ih baaack!"_ she demanded, her eye wide and deranged. He stepped forward, taking a deep breath**"Kanno Yuki!"** he called, causing the ghost stop, just as the others had, **"This... belongs to you, right? We're giving it back."** He felt like a broken record repeating this over and over, but hopefully this would be the last._"..."_ Yuki paused, hesitantly coming forward and gently taking the bag._"!"_she gasped at it's contents. She slowly grabbed the tongue out, as if stunned she got to be reunited with it. She slipped it back into her mouth, her eye widening in shock. **"Th-thank you!"**she said with a smile, clasping her hands together. She disappeared, and another earthquake came, much more powerful than the rest. Yoshiki gasped, falling over, and then everything went black...

Was he dead? He felt nostalgic thoughts coming back to him, similar to when he first woke up in Heavenly Host. Only, this time, when his eyes began to open, he was staring at the ceiling, his head hurting like nothing else. **"Is... everyone ok?"** called a familiar voice. Ms... Shishido? He sat up, rubbing his sore head. Had that all been... a dream? A quick look immediately answered that for him. Ayumi, who was face down on the floor, was wearing his jacket, and he and her still looked a bit damp. That, and his wrist hurt like Hell. **"I-I think so...,"** muttered Naomi, rubbing the back of her neck.

Ayumi watched Yoshiki hand Yuki her tongue back with bated breath. She felt a pang of guilt, that they were doing this with no explanation for Kito... but it was now or never. Ayumi let out a cry as the earth felt like it was splitting open under her feet, and her world went black.

Ayumi jolted awake, sitting up and looking around. Her eyes welled up with relief when she realized they were back in their nice, normal, no blood, no holes, no corpses classroom. Everyone was okay... they managed to make it back alive. Her heart swelled with so many emotions she felt ready to burst into tears, though she was fighting them back because everyone but Yoshiki would think she was losing her mind. Though, she glanced over at him and then down at herself. They were going to have a hard time explaining but she didn't care, she was just happy to be home. **"Mm, yep, A-okay!"** she heard Seiko's cheery announcement. She was a bit stunned that they were all okay, untouched by Heavenly Host.

**"That earthquake was scary..,"** cried Mayu, huddling up to Sakutaro, but then she let out a small gasp. **"Kishinuma? Shinozaki? What happened to the both of you?"**She sounded genuinely confused, and Yoshiki couldn't blame her. With her question, everyone focused on them, a lot having the same strange expression as Mayu. **"Errr... well...,"** Yoshiki muttered, looking to the side as he felt an air of awkwardness. How in the world were they supposed to explain this away? They would definitely have to tell the truth, or just refuse to answer, but that didn't sound like it'd go over well.**"It's... a long story?"** he said, but sounded if he was unsure of his own answer. **"We have time!"** Mayu piped up, very curious as to why the two looked so rough. Ayumi definitely had not been wearing Yoshiki's jacket a little while ago, right?

Ayumi froze as the attention was brought to them, everyone remaining silent for the long story. Her eyes caught Satoshi's, a look of concern on his face about the two's condition. Although, she realized quickly she was wearing Yoshiki's jacket, and the question Kito asked entered her mind. She silently, trying to be subtle, slipped it off. It was warm enough in here that she didn't need it anyways. She paused she the jacket fell to the ground, the tape making a bit of a click. She had forgotten about even grabbing it. Crap! It probably had water damage... She glanced back up to the group, realizing she was stalling in her own mind. She sighed, almost wondering if she should light one of her candles for the stories. She realized with a bit of a start that she didn't have any on her... she had used them all? It was almost funny. **"We... messed up the charm somehow,"** Ayumi stated. **"And... as a result..."** her face was going red with embarrassment. This was different than one of her scary stories. This was _her_story. **"We were sent to a different dimension where we ended up in Heavenly Host Elementary School which was haunted by ghosts wronged at the school years ago."**

**"Eeeh, Ayumi, are you pullin' our legs?"** Seiko asked, tilting her head in confusion.**"I wish,"** Ayumi responded dryly, her eyes glancing between her's and Yoshiki's conditions. **"You guys didn't end up being pulled through... for some reason... I really don't understand that part yet,"** she said, eyes focusing on the ground ahead of her. God, she really wanted to go home, take a shower, eat something, and sleep.

Ms. Shishido paused a moment, trying to take their story for real. **"Well... what's consistent with all of us except for Kishinuma and Shinozaki?"** she asked the rest, looking around at them all. Mayu hummed, trying to think hard. **"Well..."** She was coming up dry. **"Uhm, the only thing I**_**did**_**differently today was buy a charm from another class during the culture festival,"** Naomi piped up, taking the small charm out from inside her student ID, which was next to where she had placed the Sachiko doll paper scrap. A charm? **"Oh, I have one too! Only, Shige-nii got the little doll one for me! It was so much cuter!"** Mayu said, taking out her phone that had a small doll attached to it by a strap. Ms. Shishido paused before taking out her own phone, that had a charm similar to Mayu's. **"Big brother got one for me,"** Yuka announced, taking hers out of a hidden pocket on the side of her dress. **"Do you two have one?"**Ms. Shishido asked, assuming the rest had them too.

**"N-no... I'm not really into the supernatural stuff, so I didn't get one,"**Yoshiki said, frowning. Really...? Could all of that been avoided by the simple purchase of a little charm? This hit hard, even more so if it proved the rest had one, and Ayumi didn't.

**"I didn't have a chance to do anything but the cafe during the culture festival, so no,"** Ayumi responded with a stiffness to her voice. She could have avoided all of this with a _charm?_ Her sister's room had practically hundreds of different charms in it. If she had just carried one around all the time she wouldn't have had to go through_hell?_ The thought made her pretty bitter, but she pushed it aside. What's done is done. Though, she would probably find one to keep on her from now on. Especially with the knowledge she was susceptible to possessions. **"So, what exactly was this 'Heavenly Host' place like?"**Morishige questioned calmly.

**"It..."** Ayumi paused, image after image flashing through her head. Her heart twisted painfully, she didn't want to relive it again. Still, their looks demanded explanation. **"It was an Elementary School... very dark... it was always night, with a thunderstorm going on outside. Half the school's floor was missing..."** her voice was tightening and her body trembling. **"And there were bodies everywhere of students who had been dragged in and never escaped."**

Yoshiki was unable to communicate the type of feeling he was having... They could have been spared this whole ordeal... by a simple expense of one dollar?... He felt ridiculous, but at least the experience hadn't been all nightmares. He felt a lot closer to Ayumi now, especially since they had survived. They knew a lot more about one another, so the chances and fear of him being left behind was a lot lower now... Still, ugh... such a ridiculous thing to save the rest, but damn them.

**"B-bodies?!"** Naomi repeated, lifting a hand to her mouth, **"That's-... "** She couldn't find the words to express how awful and disturbing that was... Other students who had been trapped there after messing up the charm had all died? The thought chilled her, especially knowing how close she had come to experiencing that. Mayu, Yuka, and Ms. Shishido went quiet, either not knowing what to say or too freaked out to reply.

**"There were a lot of souls caught in the space too... Some of them were actually helpful. But, a lot of them were angry at what happened to them. Especially three ghost children,"** Ayumi said, pulling out the article she had grabbed in the library. It had been wet, but it was mostly dry. The ink was difficult to read, but still legible. **"I think the story I told you guys earlier tonight wasn't quite right..."** she explained, unfolding the paper. **"Or at least, it was only a small part of everything. There were kidnappings by a teacher... who cut out the tongues of his students and left them to bleed to death in the basement of the Elementary School."**Satoshi was trembling, his mind racing as he realized how close they had been to this... how close _Yuka_had been. Morishige watched only calmly, his mouth curved downward in a frown. Seiko look pretty stunned at the information.

**"I don't really know exactly how the dimension was created or the exact story behind it..."** Ayumi mentioned. Though, she was certainly planning on researching such events. After all, there were archives online of tons of old newspapers... she had the chance to find out the real story of Heavenly Host. **"The way we got out... well... we found the detached tongues in bags around the school,"** she said, glancing at Yoshiki as she wondered if he still had the doll. Not that she wanted to see the damned thing ever again. **"And we gave each ghost child their tongue back, which allowed us to escape."** Although... there was that fourth child they never dealt with. She wasn't going to question their return too much though, she was thankful the three relieved ghost children allowed them to escape.

Yoshiki noticed the look, wondering what it meant, but quickly remembered what he had been carrying this whole time. He checked his pocket to see if the doll was still there, and, regrettably, it was. He took it out, frowning before tossing it to the middle of the class room for the rest to see, and so he wouldn't have to hold onto it. **"That thing there is what helped us find the tongues. It's supposedly the killer's repentance,"**hem mentioned, so they all knew exactly what the small doll signified.

Mayu was about to comment on the dolls adorable qualities, but the definition Yoshiki gave made her a little creeped out. She didn't want to call anything connected to a killer 'cute'... even though it was...

**"That's... quite the experience,"**Ms. Shishido remarked, unsure of what to say. Her students had been through some truly troubling things, and she was unable to help them as their teacher... It was a little aggravating, but she was still thankful they had managed to return mostly unscathed.

**"I'm... not sure I would've made it...,"** Naomi muttered, looking to the floor. In a dark school, littered with the bodies of people her age? No way, she'd go insane before even taking a step. She admired the two for being able to get through all that...

Morishige looked at the doll, as if expecting it to almost do something. The descriptions of this place were... interesting. He was pretty grateful that most of them had managed to miss going there. It certainly didn't sound like a place Mayu would've been able to survive in.

**"Uh-huh,"**Seiko agreed with Naomi. For once, she didn't have much to say. It sounded like the two went through hell and back. She felt a bit bad that they had to go through it, but at the very least they had one another.

**"Are you two okay?"**Satoshi asked, trying to level him voice. He looked both of them up and down, taking in their conditions. They both had bandages on their hands, but Yoshiki's was obviously a splint. Did he break his wrist in that place? Plus, the both seemed wet... and exhausted.

Ayumi blushed slightly at the question, looking aside. **"I'm fine,"** she answered. She managed to get out of Heavenly Host with little to no damage, which would have never happened if it hadn't been for Yoshiki's protection. She had a cut on her hand to show for the experience. Though, the psychological cuts would be the bigger problem stemming from this experience.

Yoshiki looked to Satoshi, shrugging slightly. **"A lot better than I could be,"** he said with a flat tone, finally standing, **"And, as much as I'd love to tell you all more, I'm exhausted..."** He turned and picked up his jacket, not noticing the weight of the tape inside, figuring it was just it being damp. He glanced at the clock in their class room, noticing it read that it was eleven thirty. He had never been at school so late... He didn't really have any parents worrying about where he was, but everyone else did, especially Satoshi with his little sister. **"In fact, I think we all need to head home... It'll be midnight in a few minutes,"** he said as he began to walk towards the door, stopping abruptly. **"Even though we messed up the charm... We'll all stay in touch, alright, Mayu?"**he reassured her. It wouldn't feel right not saying anything to her, since this was the last time they'd meet in school. He then was the first to leave, deserting the doll without a second thought.

Mayu smiled lightly and nodded, almost forgetting this was her last day at Kisaragi in all the craziness. Recalling the impending move, she started to sniffle again, but held in her tears, because she felt foolish for getting upset over such a thing when they had went through Hell. She didn't feel like her problem held priority over Ayumi and Yoshiki's at all, but she was glad he had said such a thing. Though, it seemed a little out of his character, especially since he tended to hang out more with Ayumi and Satoshi, besides her. She sniffled again, rubbing her face on her sleeve to try and snap herself out of it. She wanted to apologize for being such a child, but she didn't want a sob to accidentally slip.

Naomi shifted closer to Ayumi, lightly examining her hand. **"Is it bad?"** she asked, frowning, but then she heard Mayu start to get upset. So many bad feelings had come about at the end of a day that had started out great... It was really depressing her.

Ayumi blinked at Naomi, strangely touched by the concern. Despite the jealousy that stung on occasion towards her, Naomi really was a close friend. **"It's barely a scratch,"** she assured with a smile. **"It would've been fine to leave it unwrapped, but Yoshiki had insisted,** she explained lightly. The wood had caught her skin when she stuck her hand in that hole. And in retrospect, she was so grateful she grabbed that power stone that managed to snap Yoshiki out of the ghost's trance. She paused, noticing Yoshiki had left completely. It was a very strange surge that his absence shot through her heart... she was just used to being with him constantly at this point, she told herself. She looked over at the crying Mayu, feeling awful that this was how they were leaving her. **"Sorry about all of this Mayu,"** Ayumi apologized, wishing she had never pulled the charm out. **"I really did want to send you off with something nicer,"**she admitted with a sheepish, weak smile.

Morishige put his hand on Mayu's shoulder, giving her a light smile. **"We've talked about this. We'll still talk all the time and see each other on breaks. It'll be like you still go here,"** he told her in his balanced tone. He really hated the Mayu was leaving the school, but he truly believed it wouldn't affect their relationship. He'd make sure of it.

**"Eh?"**Naomi muttered, blinking questioningly as she let her hand go. Yoshiki? Had Ayumi just used his first name? She shrugged it off, figuring anyone in a situation like that would just drop the formalities. But, would that be a normal thing? It was weird, to say the least... She didn't call anyone by their first name except Seiko, not even Satoshi. Just the notion of it embarrassed her.

Mayu smiled up at Sakutaro, nodding. **"Mhm!"** she agreed, sniffling again as she wiped at her eyes. She then looked to Ayumi, shuffling nervously.**"No, here I am crying at something so small when... you and Kishinuma..."** she paused, sniveling again, **"... went through such an awful thing. I'm sorry..."** She then smiled slightly, still holding onto the piece of paper they had all torn together. She would still regard it as it was intended. **"Besides..., Shige-nii and Kishinuma are right! We'll still hang out! Just 'cos I won't be here, doesn't mean we'll stop being friends,"** she said, regaining her normal expression of glee, **"And... I really appreciate all the trouble you went through to make me feel better, despite... the bad ending to it..."**

Ayumi smiled at Mayu, she really was going to miss the sweet girl's presence in the classroom. It sucked that things ended up this way, but the group was determined to continue the friendship, and Ayumi believed they would. **"Of course. For what it's worth, keep the scrap of the Sachiko doll. It should still keep us all connected,"**she said with a smile. She stood up, glancing at the clock. She was going to get her ear bitten off when she made it home. **"Well, I should get going. Night, everyone,"**Ayumi said with a small wave before leaving the room. The hallways were dark, like Heavenly Host's were... though they were less intimidating, she still felt uneasy. She pushed the door open for the outside, the fresh air hitting her. She sighed, taking in the fact that she was _alive…_

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We've come to the completion of our first story. I'd like to give a big, sincere thanks to all of you reviewers and supporters! It makes us really happy when we can make other people happy with our stories!

The next story will be more of a school-life story, branching off from this one. The plot is much different, so it may not strike the same chord with some of you. Despite that little tidbit, I hope you all enjoy that one just as much! See you all next update!


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